Wolves are now five points clear of the relegation zone, following a huge 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur – and it was a good day at the office for Jonny Castro Otto.
Julen Lopetegui’s side bounced back from the defeat against Liverpool to take three massive points at Molineux.
Wolves didn’t start the game well, and Spurs caused problems with their movement.
But Lopetegui made some changes at half-time and dominated the second-half.
Adama Traore’s introduction helped Wolves to become much more threatening, and the addition of Nathan Collins to form a back three worked really well.
The second-half was superb from Wolves, with a number of players really standing out.
Traore got the goal and was excellent. Raul Jimenez also had a really outstanding performance.
But one man who was also very good on Saturday and perhaps hasn’t quite been getting the same credit as some of the others, is Jonny Castro Otto.
Jonny was something of a surprise inclusion in the starting XI.
The Spaniard has been firmly rooted the bench in recent weeks and hasn’t started a game since the FA Cup third round replay against Liverpool on January 17.
Many expected Rayan Ait-Nouri to come in and replace the injured Hugo Bueno.
But it was Jonny that got the nod, and he was tasked with keeping the dangerous Dejan Kulusevski quiet.
And Jonny did a good job against the Swede, and got stronger as the game went on.
According to Sofascore, no Wolves player made more tackles than him with four. He also completed 25/28 (89%) passes.
In the second-half, Jonny then operated as a left wing-back following the system change, and probably looked a bit more at home.
Jonny Castro Otto can be proud of his performance for Wolves against Tottenham and may have given Lopetegui something to think about
Jonny has taken a lot of stick at times this season. It generally hasn’t been a particularly good season for him, and at times his form has been concerning.
But it is only fair that he gets credit when he does well and against Spurs Jonny was steady, which was really good to see given his previous struggles. It cannot be easy to come in against a Big Six side and start for the first time in weeks.
In his early days at Wolves, Jonny was such a dependable operator for Wolves.
The £15 million star has had two bad knee injuries which may well have affected him.
Hopefully he now can take big confidence from his display against Spurs. It’s possible he did enough to give Lopetegui something to think about moving forward.