Wolves crashed a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Molineux – and it was another tough day at the office for Matheus Cunha.
The Brazilian was selected to lead the line on his own against the Cherries.
Julen Lopetegui decided to go back to a 4-3-3, with Pablo Sarabia from the left and Adama Traore on the right.
Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Matheus Nunes were in the midfield.
There has been a lot of talk about Cunha following his move to the club from Atletico Madrid, which Wolves will make permanent for £43 million this summer.
While there was a lot of excitement about him coming in, some did wonder whether he would be the answer to Wolves’ biggest problem which is scoring goals.
The club signed him to come in and play as a striker.
But it’s looking as though him leading the line on his own is not really the answer for Wolves.
Against Bournemouth, he did take up some good positions. But it never really looked like he would score.
He’s now made nine appearances for Wolves and is yet to find the back of the net.
And it looks, at times, like that is playing on his mind a bit.
There was an instance in the second-half yesterday where Cunha could and should have slipped Adama Traore in on goal for a free shot.
But the 23-year-old dragged the ball back and tried to work some space to get a shot away himself, perhaps hoping to break his duck.
Perhaps going forward, Cunha needs to be playing with one of Raul Jimenez or Diego Costa.
Matheus Cunha leading the line on his own for Wolves isn’t really working
Cunha is clearly a very talented player. But it doesn’t feel like he’s the man to be leading the line on his own.
Cunha’s best work comes when he plays off a natural centre-forward, or alongside one.
So Julen Lopetegui needs to think about pairing the Brazilian with one of Raul Jimenez or Diego Costa.
It would mean dropping a midfielder, but it surely increases the likelihood of the team scoring. And it could really bring the best out the club’s record signing.
Maybe Cunha really excels in training playing on his own up top.
But so far in games, it hasn’t really worked and Lopetegui has surely got to try and get him some support.