Wolves had their best result of the season so far on Saturday against Liverpool – and the performance of Mario Lemina was extremely encouraging.
The Gabon international was selected to start for Wanderers, and he made up a three-man midfield with Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes.
Lemina had looked great on his debut against West Ham United.
He then did decently on what was a tough day at the office for Wolves against Manchester City a couple of weeks ago.
And against Liverpool on Saturday, he was highly impressive.
The 29-year-old offered dynamism, energy, bite and aggression in the middle of the park, and he was just tireless.
He completely bullied his Liverpool counterparts, and he ended up looking like a player Liverpool could desperately do with themselves.
In recent times, the Wolves midfield has felt a little tired.
Neves and Joao Moutinho have been amazing players for Wolves. But they are both technicians and sometimes it’s just felt as though they’ve needed a more athletic, combative and tenacious player in there with them.
That player has now arrived in the form of Lemina, who has breathed new life into the engine room.
He and Matheus Nunes both offer mobility and athleticism. But Lemina uses his more for defensive work, while the Portuguese is all about taking the ball and gliding forwards through the lines.
Wolves’ midfield has an exciting feel about it now with Mario Lemina in there
Lemina was outstanding against Liverpool. Arguably, he was Wolves’ best player on the day.
Having spent just £10 million to sign him, Lemina could really prove to be one of the bargains of the season by any club.
One of the best things about Lemina’s game is that he allows those around him to be more expressive.
He was operating a bit deeper, and that allowed Neves to have more influence going forwards. And he eventually scored by bursting forwards to latch onto Adama Traore’s cross.
It’s been a wonderful start for Lemina, and it’s easy to see why Julen Lopetegui had wanted him at Sevilla. Hopefully he can maintain this very high standard.