Wolves are into the top half of the Premier League table, after a stunning performance today against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Wanderers ran out 4-2 winners against Mauricio Pochettino’s side, and it was probably Wolves’ best performance of the season so far.
Gary O’Neil‘s players were superior to their Chelsea counterparts all over the pitch, and in truth, it could have been more than four.
The midweek defeat to Manchester United will have stung a lot, and it was as though that result was at the forefront of the players’ minds today.
Matheus Cunha is the headline-maker, scoring his first hat-trick for the club, with the Brazilian continuing his fine form. He’ll be hailed for how clinical he was today, but there is another stat that just typifies him as a player…
Matheus Cunha contested 15 duels against Chelsea, in addition to scoring three goals
Cunha has been in the goals recently and Wolves fans are loving his contributions in the final third.
But the 24-year-old has always been about the hard work, and getting stuck in.
As well as scoring three goals today, Cunha actually contested a remarkable 15 duels, which was the most of any player on the field.
The closest Chelsea player to him in terms of duels contested was Malo Gusto with 13 (Sofascore). Conor Gallagher contested 12 and Enzo Fernandez contested 11. In terms of duels actually won, no player had more success than Cunha with 8.
It is not too often that you see a forward player coming out on top in this metric.
It tends to be midfielders that contest the most duels, so for Cunha to have made the most today just shows how involved he was.
What a player
Cunha has well and truly arrived for Wolves.
This was his very best performance in Old Gold since his move to the club just over a year ago, and this duels stat just sums him up as a player.
Chelsea were out-fought today by Wolves and Cunha really was at the forefront of the battle.
The stat puts the Chelsea players to shame – a forward player for the away side should never been contesting the most duels, especially on top of scoring a hat-trick.
But this is what Cunha does, and why he could very well become a world-class player in the coming years.