Wolves endured a difficult night at Molineux on Wednesday as Gary O’Neil’s side lost 1-0 to Bournemouth, a game that saw one player put on one of his ‘poorest’ performances.
It was an evening to forget for Wolves at Molineux last night however, it’ll be a fixture difficult to erase from the memory of many due to yet another VAR controversy.
Despite the questionable intervention of VAR, Gary O’Neil was vocal on the fact that his side were simply not good enough against Bournemouth, seeing them lose 1-0 to his former club, a result that was perhaps kind to the Old Gold.
Antoine Semenyo’s first-half goal decided the direction of the points however, there were plenty of opportunities for the visitors to score, firing 21 shots towards Jose Sa on the night.
Molineux turned into a cauldron in the 68th minute of play, as VAR chalked off Hwang Hee-chan’s sublimely worked header due to concerns of a high arm from Matheus Cunha in the build-up.
READ MORE: How Wolves fans reacted to VAR controversy v Bournemouth
It was another extremely controversial call from VAR against Wolves although, attention wasn’t solely on the ruled-out goal as the hosts simply failed to perform to their usual standard, with one player standing out.
Pablo Sarabia was not good enough for Wolves against Bournemouth
There were a handful of players who were well below par against the Cherries, with Pablo Sarabia undoubtedly being one of the worst.
The Spaniard was accused of having one of his ‘poorest games of the season’ by journalist Steve Madeley, with Joao Gomes falling under the same bracket.
For Wolves fans, the most frustrating thing about the 31-year-old’s display was that it wasn’t unexpected as the forward has been below his usual standard for some time now, with last night epitomising what he isn’t offering the Old Gold.
Whether it was tiredness, a lack of desire or already envisaging himself on a beach somewhere this summer, Sarabia showed little fight to make a difference, highlighted by his numbers.
| Minutes played | 64 minutes |
| Passes completed | 20 |
| Crosses completed | 1/6 |
| Successful dribbles | 0 |
| Possession lost | 17x |
| Duel wins | 4/14 |
| Dribbled past | 3x |
Losing possession 17 times was the most frustrating element of the former PSG maestro’s display, as he so frequently lost the ball, losing possession just three times less than the number of passes he managed to play.
Gary O’Neil must drop Pablo Sarabia against Luton Town
Wolves’ performance against Bournemouth was the opposite of the one on show against Arsenal, a game which Sarabia didn’t start.
In place of the Spain international was 20-year-old Tawanda Chirewa, who when introduced into last night’s fixture, brought a bright spark to the host’s outlook on the game.
Surely, now is the time for O’Neil to banish the 31-year-old from his squad, with his effort levels lacking and his performance being far from the standard many became accustomed to at the start of 2024.
It was a terrible night for Wolves, not eased by the individual display of Sarabia, whose time in the Old Gold this term should now be limited as a result of successive lacklustre performances.