It finished 1-1 at Molineux for Wolves and Newcastle with a late goal from each side. After an 80th minute Jimenez screamer, Wolves dropped deep to defend the three points. Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy equalized it 9 minutes later from a free-kick that curled around a poorly placed wall to beat Patricio near post.
Rui Patricio
Poor organization of the wall late in the game allowed Murphy to strike a low curler that should never have been able to get to the goal in the first place. Even with the wall failing to do its job, we all expected better of the keeper in that situation.
4/10
Romain Saiss
There were some serious limitations offensively down the left flank with Saiss at LWB. He did not seem as comfortable going forward as he did last week at Leeds. It remains to be seen how much longer Nuno will wait to give Ait-Nouri his debut, who offers a better attacking option down the left side.
5/10
Max Kilman
The kid put in another quality performance. He looked comfortable on the ball, often finding Coady who can make the key pass. He also found himself in the midfield pinching the ball with Neves and Dendoncker to win possession upfield. This sort of performance seems to be one that we should expect to see every time out from Kilman.
7/10
Conor Coady
In the opening 20, Coady was one of the better players on the pitch for Wolves. He found Semedo multiple times down the right starting some of the better attacks in the first half. A harsh whistle against him on a 50/50 ball in the air just outside the box will leave him frustrated. The following free-kick resulted in Newcastle’s equalizer.
6/10
Willy Boly
Big Willy was the best of Nuno’s back three for the full 90. He was dominant in the air and made very few mistakes on the ball. He headed away several dangerous balls with smart clearances. His strength and poise under pressure has been irreplaceable as of late. Boly will feel as though his performance was worthy of a clean sheet.
7/10
Nelson Semedo
For a player still learning a new system under Nuno, he looks pretty comfortable. He found himself in some very dangerous areas down the right side, especially in the first half. What we have not seen yet from Semedo is the final ball that opens the defence up. There are plenty of goal contributions lost from Doherty that need to be replaced, Nuno will look to Semedo for more game-changing plays in the future.
6/10
Ruben Neves
The midfield seemed to be in full control defensively for most of the game. Neves often seems aware of when the opposition is loose with the ball and will jump in quickly to win it. Even though he won the ball multiple times in the midfield, Wolves attack, which is still trying to find its form, was not able to capitalize. Neves was again one of the team’s better passing options, completing just under 100 passes, leading the side.
7/10
Leander Dendoncker
Similarly to Neves, Dendoncker had a quality day defensively but lacked impact offensively. His work rate is never questioned, but there will be days where he lacks quality on the ball and today was one of those days. When Dendoncker is good going forward, Wolves will be to and will more often than not pick up three points.
6/10
Daniel Podence
Our number 10 was giving the Newcastle defence some real problems with his on-a-string dribbling abilities. Podence was Wolves most dangerous player going forward but could have done a little better with the opportunities he had. After watching the first half, it would have been unsurprising to see him on the scoresheet after 90. You can feel a burst of goal involvements coming for Podence if he continues in his current form.
7/10
Pedro Neto
Neto just could not find it today. He had a great opportunity to score but could guide a cross fizzed in from Podence into an open net. In a decent position just outside of the box, Neto tried to curl one into the top corner but skied it into the canvas-covered seats. It will be interesting to see if Neto stays in the starting 11 Friday against Crystal Palace.
5/10
Raul Jimenez
First, the goal. Raul added yet another stunner to his highlights with a volley from a set-piece that was cleared just outside of the box. It was unfortunate that his strike wasn’t the winner as it was a goal worthy of a cup final. Aside from the goal, Raul’s decision making was poor. He passed up a wide open square ball to Podence that would have surely resulted in a goal and instead attempted a left footed strike that flew over the bar.
6/10
Subs
Marcal
Not much to do for Marcal in his 20 minutes. He offers more on the left side than Saiss but with Adama coming on at the same time, most of the action for Wolves was found on the right side in the final phases of the game.
6/10
Adama Traore
The speedster came on again as a supersub for the final 20. Once Traore comes on, nearly all of our attacking play goes through him. He was able to whip in several quality crosses that led to chaos in the box. I’d like to see Traore in the starting lineup in the front three next to Raul next week.
7/10
Joao Moutinho
Nuno brought the veteran midfielder on for the final ten minutes after Wolves took the lead. It was another questionable decision from the manager to sit back and let Newcastle come onto them after dominating the opponents for much of the game. Moutinho played his role fine and made no clear mistakes
6/10