Wolves got a brilliant win over Fulham on Saturday – and Molineux legend Lee Naylor reckons there was one player for Gary O’Neil who was even better than Rayan Ait-Nouri and Mario Lemina.
Wanderers are up to ninth in the Premier League table, having ground out a 2-1 victory against the Cottagers at Molineux.
Gary O’Neil suffered a double blow in the game, losing both Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Pedro Neto to injuries.
Despite that setback, Wolves stayed in the game and then took the lead through Rayan Ait-Nouri early in the second-half, after a good cut-back from Toti Gomes.
Then, Nelson Semedo doubled Wolves’ lead, striking from the edge of the box. His effort deflected off Tom Cairney, but it was well worked and credit must got to Joao Gomes for the assist.
Gomes was brilliant again for Wolves – and Naylor actually picked him as his man of the match…
Lee Naylor lauds ‘fantastic’ Wolves star Joao Gomes against Fulham and says he’s ‘dominating’ right now
Most of the talk has been about Ait-Nouri since the game, with the Algerian really coming to the fore in the absence of Neto.
On Match of the Day, Ashley Williams stated that he was ‘the difference’ between two good teams.
Mario Lemina has also come in for a lot of plaudits for just being absolutely everywhere for Wolves.
But for Naylor, Gomes was the standout player. He said on Matchday Live: “For me, I think there were standouts all over the pitch, but Joao Gomes for me was my man of the match.
“What he did in the build-up to the second goal – it was top. He’s just getting all over the place at the minute and all over the pitch and dominating people. He’s getting better all the time.
“That’s our sitting midfielder! Making runs, making tackles, making plays, bringing in assists. That’s the package right there.
“I just thought he was everywhere. He’s just been fantastic for me in this second half. He’s earned man of the match for me.”
Matheus Cunha was also left amazed by Gomes’ display, branding his teammate ‘absurd’. on Instagram.
Joao Gomes is getting better and better
It is up for debate as to whether Gomes was better than Ait-Nouri or Lemina, but there is no doubt he was absolutely top drawer against Fulham.
The Brazilian is in his first full season with Wolves, but it genuinely looks as though he’s been in this league for a lot longer.
He is tailor-made for the English game with the way he gets about the pitch, snaps into tackles and picks the pocket of the opposition.
But it also needs to be said; Gomes’ technical ability is definitely improving, which is something Gary O’Neil recently mentioned they were working on.
His role in the second Wolves goal was huge. The way he spun away from the defenders on the touchline, before playing the through ball. He then showed great awareness to roll the ball back to Semedo for the shot.
He is a player with serious potential, and that £15 million transfer fee is already looking like an absolute bargain.
