wolves win at Molineux to rise the Premier League table as Fulham stay put.
Gary O’Neil’s side jumped to eighth place in the Premier League after a 2-1 victory at Molineux as Fulham lose just their second game in the last seven.
Goals from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo lifted Wolves to a two nil lead before Alex Iwobi scored nothing more than a consolation goal in the 98th minute.
It was Wolves’ sixth win in their last 10 games in the league, with the Midlands side now arguably having the European places set firmly in their sight, whilst Fulham stay in 12th place and now six points adrift of Wolves.
Gary O’Neil can adapt in-game.
For the first time this season, Wolves were forced into two first-half substitutes through injury with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Pedro Neto coming off before the break.
After Neto’s withdrawal in the 45th minute, O’Neil reshaped his defence from four defenders, to a more familiar five at the back with Ait-Nouri and Semedo playing in more advanced roles.
The two wing-backs struggled to impact the game going forward before the tactical change from the Wolves boss as they were asked to play with more discipline, in more defensive roles than normal.
The change led to successful outcomes as Ait-Nouri opened the scoring before Semedo gave Wolves a two-goal lead, despite a wicked deflection off Fulham player Tom Cairney.
It shows the tactical ability O’Neil possesses and the bravery to change the shape of the team at such a crucial part of the game, while losing two of his attacking players.
Marco Silva does not know his best XI.
It shows the tactical ability O’Neil possesses and the bravery to change the shape of the team at such a crucial part of the game, while losing two of his attacking players.
Silva has named just four unchanged sides in the Premier League this season, showing the inconsistencies in team selection and performances from the Fulham players.
Despite using the second least amount of players in the Premier League with 26, the starting eleven remains the problem to solve for the Fulham boss.
Mario Lemina is having the best season of his career.
Lemina has been one of Wolves’ best buys in recent times, setting them back £9.7million but becoming one of the most important players in this current Wanderers squad.
As said before, Wolves faced injury problems during the game, which forced Lemina to play in several positions, starting in central midfield and ending the game as a make-shift left-winger.
Despite the problems, Lemina showed nothing but passion, professionalism and pure quality to give a standout performance in the game.
The Gabon midfielder has already surpassed his most starts in a league campaign with 25 and has bettered his best goalscoring league season with four so far.
The 30-year-old has not had a better individual season in his career, and that was portrayed today in a fantastic performance to help his team to all three points.
