Pablo Sarabia was a player who divided opinion at Wolves – but today is two years on from his finest moment for the Old Gold.
In January 2023, Wolves signed Pablo Sarabia from Paris Saint-Germain.
It was a move that came as a fair surprise, because Sarabia was a player with real pedigree, having played for top clubs and for the Spain national team.
Costing just over £4 million, fans felt this was one of the bargain signings of the season.
In the end, Sarabia’s spell at Wolves was a bit of a mixed bag.
There were many who felt that he didn’t really suit the English game and its physicality, and he could often frustrate supporters for lacking influence.
But Sarabia was a top technician capable of making things happen at any moment.
And, boy, did he do that two years ago today in a Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur.
Revisiting Pablo Sarabia’s wonder goal for Wolves against Tottenham
In the opening weeks of the 2023/24 season, Sarabia didn’t play much for Wolves.
In six of the 11 games before Spurs, he had been an unused substitute, with Gary O’Neil preferring the much more dynamic trio of Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan and Pedro Neto.
But the season rather changed for Sarabia when Spurs came to Molineux on November 11, 2023.
He again started on the bench for the game, and Spurs looked to be heading for all three points as they headed towards injury-time 1-0 up after taking an early lead through Brennan Johnson.
Needing a late spark, O’Neil turned to Sarabia on 87 minutes – and the Spaniard delivered big time.
A few moments later, Sarabia produced a truly breathtaking piece of technical quality, controlled a fizzing Cunha cross from the left side with his weak foot, before lashing the ball home with his left.
It was an amazing piece of skill, that rightly earned him a Premier League Goal of the Month nomination. Sarabia’s stunner also won him Wolves’ Goal of the Season award, narrowly beating Cunha’s solo goal against Nottingham Forest.
Not content with just equalising against Spurs, Sarabia then turned provider for Wolves, slipping in Mario Lemina who finished to win the game.
It was one of the best moments of O’Neil’s tenure at Wolves, and in just 12 minutes so many fans realised how good a technician Sarabia was.
Wolves miss Sarabia
He may not have been consistent, but Wolves surely miss Sarabia now.
The Spaniard just knew how to unpick locks and then, as we saw against Spurs, and on other occasions like against Ipswich Town and Manchester United last term, he could deliver in big moments.
| Pablo Sarabia for Wolves |
| Appearances – 77 |
| Goals – 8 |
| Assists – 12 |
Wolves now lack players who can be game-changers.
Even though Sarabia didn’t start every game, and sometimes played poorly when he was on, there was always at least the potential that he could do something.
Unfortunately, Wolves no longer have such individuals.