Wolves produced a spectacular second half turnaround to beat Southampton just days after the home side knocked them out of the FA Cup. After an awful first half display which saw Danny Ings put Southampton ahead, Wolves produced an energetic display in the second to storm to a 2-1 win with confidence and quality. I take a look at how the players fared today (from both halves remember).
Rui Patricio
A fantastic performance from Portugal’s no.1 today, made some huge saves to keep the score down and saved Wolves the three points. Particularly impressive double save against Che Adams, definitely one of his best performances of the season.
8/10
Nelson Semedo
Like many players today, his first half was less than impressive. Massively at fault for the Southampton goal when he allowed Armstrong to burst past him and couldn’t get anything going with Traore in attack. Much better when Traore was moved infield on the opposite side and enjoyed his usual forays in attack. Still not his best game but not a complete disaster like some might say.
6/10
Romain Saiss
His first half was pretty poor, constantly found out of position when Southampton counter-attacked and was sloppy in possession. Was much more solid in the second half when Wolves regained their shape and was more intelligent when choosing times to tackle. Was incredibly unlucky to get his first yellow card of the season for a brilliant challenge.
6/10
Conor Coady
Very similar to Saiss and Dendoncker in the sense that he was caught too high up the pitch at pints and was late tracking back. Often found himself out of position if Wolves lost possession and was static at times. Again though, much more solid in the second half as was the case with the backline.
6/10
Leander Dendoncker
Probably the guiltiest culprit when it came to being out of position, constantly gave Nathan Redmond and Stuart Armstrong a chance in behind as he’s so used to pressing upfield. Could’ve gotten closer to Armstrong for the goal and needed to be better in possession (as was the case with the entire back three). Similarly to the others, cleaned up his game after the break, but overall this was his weakest performance that I’ve seen in defence.
5/10
Jonny
A more muted performance from the Spaniard but definitely not a bad one, all of Southampton’s threat either came centrally or on the right hand side – which for me speaks volumes of who teams target and why. Wasn’t involved a lot going forward but offered himself up in good positions and offered a switch in play if Wolves needed it.
7/10
Joao Moutinho
Another game of two halves for the experienced midfielder, like in the Arsenal win he was awful in the first half, constantly giving away the ball cheaply with passes that any professional midfielder should make. You could also say that he might’ve been able to help defend the Ings goal as he got back into the box. Improved in the second half and managed to recover his passing ability, but he still wasn’t able to really control the tempo as he usually can.
6/10
Ruben Neves
As with Moutinho, Neves surprisingly struggled in the first half. A very under par showing with the passing bug catching on as even he couldn’t hold on to the ball. The second was a different story and definitely was enough to overturn the first half showing. His defensive recoveries and positive passing to get Wolves up the pitch was superb and he lead by example in providing a press and leadership. Scored another penalty to take his goal tally up to four.
8/10
Adama Traore
Really struggled to get anything going in the first half and was partly at fault for the Ings goal after some shocking tracking back. His work rate greatly improved in the second half and was far more effective playing further inside on the left. He managed to make good use of through balls in the inside channels and allowed Semedo to get further forward on the opposite side. Great tweak by Nuno to improve his performance.
7/10
Willian Jose
Was virtually anonymous in the first half but was able to link up play far better in the second as Pedro Neto and Adama Traore were closer to him. Still not making a huge impact with his lack of pressing that would be seen with Jimenez, but if he can get used to this system he might start to get more chances.
6/10
Pedro Neto
We’re running out of things to say about this young man. At 20 years old he already has the most goal involvements of any player under 21 (More than Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden) and he seems to carry Wolves through games. Whilst this was one of his quieter performances, he still scored a brilliant winning goal which is deserved after the past few games. Finds space perfectly and can always beat his man with deceptive speed. Can’t wait to see how he closes out the season.
8/10
SUBS
Marcal
Came on for Jonny in the 69th (ironic considering the day) minute and closed out the game for the defence. Good to see him back as he does offer a consistent defensive solidity when he stays fit.
6/10
Fabio Silva
Came on with only a few minutes to go and did well in forcing Southampton back with his pressing from the front- something Jose doesn’t offer. It would feel unfair to rate on him on those few minutes but he does offer great energy.
N/A
Max Kilman
Only played the last few minutes like Fabio so not really much to say other than he offered a chance to be more compact at the back.
N/A
Tom Parker is part of the Talking Wolves editorial team – you can follow him on Twitter here.