Wolves are out of the Carabao Cup after losing to Chelsea – and one player’s position appears to have strengthened, despite not playing.
Wolves lost a chaotic seven-goal thriller, but there were some positives to take for the Old Gold.
It was a truly awful first-half, with Wolves gifting Chelsea three goals, with Andrey Santos, Tyrique George and Willian Estevao all scoring.
Wolves then staged a comeback, scoring through Tolu Arokodare and then David Moller Wolfe.
A red card for Liam Delap then gave Wolves further hope of getting back on level terms, but a stunner from Jamie Gittens then all but sealed the win for Chelsea.
There was time for one more twist with Moller Wolfe scoring a second goal for Wolves late on.
But Wolves couldn’t find an equaliser, and we’ll now see if Vitor Pereira will stay on as manager. Given the quick turnaround to Fulham, that feels likely.
Despite a courageous second-half display there were some poor performances last night and arguably, one man who didn’t even play saw his standing increase.
- READ MORE: Wolves player ratings vs Chelsea, David Moller Wolfe shines in chaotic 4-3 defeat but several 4/10s
Sam Johnstone still Wolves number one as Jose Sa fails audition vs Chelsea
Against the Blues, Pereira decided to give Jose Sa his first minutes for Wolves in just over a month.
Sa has rightly been on the bench after his poor start to the season, and unfortunately for him he did not make the most of his opportunity against Chelsea.
Against Chelsea Sa conceded four goals and did not make a single save.
He was slow getting down for Santos’ opening goal, and then, for Chelsea’s third he gave a very risky pass to Fer Lopez close to the Wolves box.
Lopez should have done better. But equally, Sa could see he was being marked fairly tightly, and should have gone long.
He was then beaten from distance at his near post by Gittens. As good as the strike was, perhaps he again could have done better.
This was his chance to get back in Pereira’s good books.
But as a result of his wasted opportunity, Johnstone’s position has further strengthened and the Englishman looks the undisputed number one at Molineux.
Major work to do for Jose Sa
Sa has now conceded 15 goals in just five appearances this season, which is three a game. He also has a save percentage of just
Johnstone has shipped 10 goals in seven games, and is looking a much safer bet between the sticks right now.
He did come in for a bit of stick for a couple of the goals against Burnley. But all in all, Johnstone has been a relatively solid performer this season for Wolves.
That means Sa has a lot to do to get back in – and now, there are no more Carabao Cup opportunities for him, meaning he must perform in training while waiting for a drop-off from Johnstone.