Well, would you look at that. Wolves remembered they were allowed to compete in a football match.
A 1-1 draw with Fulham is hardly the sort of result that will have people dancing down Waterloo Road with shirts off and traffic cones on their heads, but compared to some of the absolute horror shows served up recently, this was a genuine improvement. Still not great, mind you. Let’s not get carried away and start commissioning statues outside Molineux. But there was effort, structure and even the occasional successful pass. Mateus Mané’s superb strike gave Wolves the lead before he decided to give away a silly penalty. Fulham equalised through Antonee Robinson’s penalty just before half-time. Wolves then somehow resisted the urge to completely implode after the break and actually looked reasonably organised for once. Here are our player ratings from Wolves 1, Fulham 1.
José Sá – 6/10
Little chance with the penalty. Dealt with what he had fairly comfortably. Not a standout, but not a liability either, which counts as a win lately.
Rodrigo Gomes – 6/10
Worked hard but offered very little in attacking areas. Wolves struggled to build consistent pressure down the right, which matches the broader pattern of limited final-third involvement.
Santiago Bueno – 6/10
Solid and steady. Dealt reasonably well with Fulham’s movement and didn’t get dragged into unnecessary risk in possession.
Ladislav Krejčí – 6/10
Physically strong and reliable in the air. Helped Wolves cope during Fulham’s longer spells of possession without major alarms.
Yerson Mosquera – 5.5/10
Aggressive and proactive in duels. Some good interventions, though still a bit uneven when Fulham tried to stretch the back line.
David Møller Wolfe – 6/10
Steady performance. Defended his side well enough when Fulham were putting the pressure on and contributed without major errors. He probably should have played more this season, as he has looked decent during most of his cameos.
André – 7/10
Wolves’ most consistent midfielder. Helped control tempo in spells and stopped Fulham turning possession dominance into constant chances.
João Gomes – 6/10
All energy, all effort. Pressed constantly and broke up play, even if his use of the ball was still inconsistent.
Mateus Mané – 7/10
Scored Wolves’ goal and was their most decisive attacking player. Also conceded the penalty, which slightly tempers what would otherwise be a standout 8. Still the key attacking spark.
Hwang Hee-Chan – 6/10
More involved than he has been for a while. Linked play better in transition and offered some attacking threat, but Wolves still lacked consistent final-third quality.
Adam Armstrong – 4/10
Struggled to make an impact. Limited involvement in attacking phases and lacked presence as a focal point. Wolves’ playing style doesn’t help him at all, but he still didn’t influence the game enough.
Subs
Hugo Bueno – 5/10
Only played for five minutes, injected some energy as soon as he came on, but didn’t have any time to influence the game.
Pedro Lima – 5/10
Another five-minute cameo set up an excellent chance that Arokodare squandered late on.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde – 5/10
Tried to add some forward drive, but didn’t really get into the game.
Tolu Arokodare – 4/10
Added physical presence that Armstrong doesn’t offer, but wasted a great chance from Lima.
This was a clear step up from Wolves in terms of structure and effort, even if the overall picture still isn’t particularly convincing. Fulham had more possession and controlled longer spells of the game, but Wolves were more organised without the ball and didn’t completely fall apart under pressure as they have done in recent weeks.
The issue remains in attack, where Wolves continue to rely too heavily on individual moments rather than sustained creativity or consistent chance creation. Mateus Mané provided the decisive spark, but beyond that, there was little to suggest Wolves can regularly hurt teams from open play. It’s an improvement, but still a long way from being good enough.
