Wolves progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup by beating National League North side Chorley 1-0. A long-range Vitinha strike in the 11th minute saw Wolves through, but another lacklustre performance from Nuno’s side leaves the Wolves manager with even more questions to answer about his team’s poor run of form.
John Ruddy
In short, Ruddy won the game for Wolves. The veteran keeper enjoyed a much more eventful evening to the one he was probably expecting, but saved a number of Chorley efforts well, including a header from Halls in the second half which he tipped over the bar. Man of the match. 8/10.
Willy Boly
Bounced back from a shocking defensive display last weekend to put in a good performance, albeit against sixth-tier opposition. Boly dealt well with Chorley’s physicality and aerial presence and kept the previously lethal Connor Hall almost anonymous. The 29-year-old will need to replicate this performance against Chelsea on Wednesday. 8/10.
Conor Coady
Was probably delighted to return to the heart of a back three having been substituted against West Brom, but still looked far from comfortable. Played some trademark long balls in the early stages, including one that was inches from putting Dendoncker through on goal, but struggled defensively which was summed up by his rash challenge on Cardwell on the halfway line. Needs to improve, fast. 5/10.
Max Kilman
Was the only member of Wolves’ XI who had played at Chorley’s level before and looked assured but unspectacular, as would be expected. Like Boly, Kilman dealt with Chorley’s physicality but didn’t look as assured as the Ivorian, perhaps due to his lack of game time. May get another Premier League chance if Wolves return to a back three on a permanent basis. 6/10.
Ki-Jana Hoever
Did ok but wasn’t as impressive as he was against Manchester United last month. Saw a lot of the ball in the early stages but didn’t feed the ball into Silva or Cutrone, and was often dispossessed with ease. Not his finest game. 5/10.
Joao Moutinho
Failed to improve on his recent poor form. Lost the ball on multiple occasions, couldn’t get Wolves further forward by feeding Silva or Cutrone and his set-pieces were nothing short of shambolic. Should be dropped for Wednesday’s trip to Chelsea. 4/10.
Leander Dendoncker
Provided a physical presence in Wolves’ midfield that was needed against the part-timers. The Belgian bombed forward on multiple occasions early on and was often just inches away from being put through on goal, but did fail to create chances from advanced positions. Despite a lack of impact on this game, Wolves do look worse without Dendoncker in midfield. 6/10.
Rayan Ait-Nouri
Struggled throughout. Couldn’t deal with occupying the entire left-hand side on his own against the pairing of Birch and Newby, and barely received the ball or drove the team forward in a near anonymous display. With Marcal’s absence looking to be more long-term, Ait-Nouri will get the chance to improve his performances, but has a long way to go to convince Wolves to splash £20m on him in the summer. 4/10.
Vitinha
Contributed the game’s only real moment of quality in scoring his first Wolves goal. The 20-year-old picked the ball up just inside his own half, moved forward unchallenged and struck a superb effort that flew into the top corner from about 30 yards. Was Wolves’ only shining light in the first half, and was unlucky to be removed on 68 minutes. 7/10.
Fabio Silva
Couldn’t back up his impressive Black Country derby performance but wasn’t helped by his teammates or manager. Silva was often isolated despite playing with a strike partner and had to drop very deep to receive the ball. The 18-year-old had no chances of note as Wolves struggled offensively, but that was more down to Wolves’ approach rather than anything of Silva’s wrongdoing. 5/10.
Patrick Cutrone
All reports suggest that this could have been Cutrone’s last game in gold and black, but the Italian was barely noticeable for large parts of his 68 minutes on the field. Looked to make good runs in behind the Chorley backline in the first 20 minutes or so, but the balls to him were overhit. It would be a surprise if the stats showed Cutrone to have touched the ball more than five times, which is probably more reflective of Nuno’s game plan than his own performance. 5/10.
Pedro Neto
Single-handedly drove Wolves forward in the closing stages, but had little support as Wolves looked to cling on. 6/10.
Adama Traore
Had one notable run late on but got stuck into the Chorley coaching staff more than their left-back. 5/10.
Ruben Neves
Helped shore up the previously bypassed Wolves midfield. 6/10.
James Wynn is part of the Talking Wolves editorial team – you can follow him on Twitter here.