Wolves were dumped out of the Europa League after being beaten fairly convincingly in the end by Sevilla. A missed penalty set the tone for the rest of the game for Wolves as they looked shot of confidence, creativity and fitness.
Rui Patricio
Didn’t have much to do as a lot of Sevilla’s efforts came from whipped balls in or shots from distance He got a really strong hand on Banega’s free-kick late into the second half which looked destined for the back of the net. Had absolutely no chance for the goal.
7/10
Willy Boly
Boly had an early scare in the opening stages of the game which many Wolves fans would have been hiding behind the sofa, hoping he could play on. Luckily, the big Frenchman could carry on after some treatment to his groin (we hope). Was the pick of the Wolves back three and had his best game since the restart where he’s arguably been poor. A great performance from the usually presiding Willy Boly.
8/10
Conor Coady
Looked a lot better tonight and organised the defence to the standard that we are so used to seeing. He made some crucial interceptions in the first half but did look nervous at points. Didn’t see many sweeping long-range passes tonight from Coady but really did have a lack of options. Could’ve maybe attacked the ball a bit better for the goal.
7/10
Romain Saiss
He was better compared to the Olympiacos and Chelsea game and the Moroccan was dominant in the air and did his job against a Sevilla side who have a real offensive bite. Picked up his customary yellow card for a stupid tackle which should have won people a bit of money. Positionally he got caught again which seems to be an occurring theme with Saiss’ game.
7/10
Ruben Vinagre
Vinagre looked a lot more natural at LWB tonight and although positionally there is still work to be done, he got forward well and did a great job in keeping Navas quiet in the first half. His willingness to get forward meant that Jesus Navas had to go with him. A real mature performance from a player who I was really nervous about starting tonight’s game. He’s certainly proved me wrong.
7/10
Joao Moutinho
Had a pop from distance in the first half that ballooned over the bar from what was still nose-bleed territory for Moutinho. He was quite sloppy in his passing in the first half and lumped the ball aimlessly on a few occasions. Looked tired and a yard behind in stages but still battled well and tried to cover the ground.
5/10
Leander Dendoncker
Looked a little lost in the middle of the park in the first half. Ocampo and Banega took it past him far too easily a couple of times which is disappointing from Dendoncker who’s usually sound in 1v1 battles.
6/10
Ruben Neves
Was probably the pick of the Wolves midfield but didn’t have too much of an impact. Sat tight and compact, like the rest of the midfield and frustrated Sevilla. Defensively did what was needed but couldn’t really get on the ball and make things happen.
7/10
Matt Doherty
He did brilliantly midway through the first half to get back around on the cover to sniff out a looped ball to the back post that looked dangerous. Defensively it’s the best Matt Doherty we’ve seen in a while. He was excellent but the shape just didn’t allow him to get forward.
7/10
Raul Jimenez
Jimenez is one of the most lethal finishers from the spot in world football and you’d put your house on him converting. Unfortunately, the Sevilla keeper saved what was a really poor penalty from Jimenez which is so unlike him. You have to take chances against a team of Sevilla’s pedigree as chances are few and far between. He really faded out of the game after his miss and looked a bit low on confidence.
5/10
Adama Traore
What an unbelievable run from Traore to win the penalty. Pace, power and intricate dribbling took him past 3 or 4 Sevilla players from deep in Wolves’ half. He was a constant thorn in Sevilla’s side in the first half and they just didn’t know how to deal with him without fouling him. How often have we said that this season? The second half was a completely different story and I could count the number of times Traore touched the ball on two hands.
6/10
Subs
Diogo Jota
Did nothing at all in the very limited time he had on the pitch.
Pedro Neto
Another player who failed to have an impact on the game purely through how deep and compact Wolves were sat. Players like Neto, Adama and Raul aren’t going to hurt teams when they’re camped out in their own half.
Matt Cooper is co-founder of Talking Wolves, you can follow him on Twitter here.