King Power Stadium

Leicester 1-0 Wolves – Player Ratings

Bruno Lage suffered defeat in his first game in charge of Wolves after a first half Jamie Vardy goal gave Leicester all three points at the King Power Stadium. It was an impressive performance from Wolves and the noisy travelling support showed their appreciation at full time ahead of a full return to Molineux next week. With five senior players unavailable, and new signings expected in the coming weeks, Wolves’ opening day performance was certainly something to build on as the new era gets underway.

 

Jose Sa

A Premier League debut for the new Wolves number one who put in a confident display. He dealt with everything that came his way with good shot stopping and aerial ability but could do little with Jamie Vardy’s clever flick which led to the winning goal. Wolves’ fans saw glimpses of what he can do with his feet too, with the Portuguese looking like a solid replacement for Rui Patricio. 7/10

 

Max Kilman

A very impressive defensive display from Max Kilman who limited Leicester’s threat down the left flank. Kilman was impressive on the ball and looked to link play with the midfield which meant he found himself in advanced positions frequently in the second half. He had one shot blocked at close range and has done himself no harm at all in staking a claim to be a first team regular under Bruno Lage. 8/10

 

Conor Coady

A poor display from the Wolves captain following his return from the England Euro 2020 camp. He was partly at fault for the goal, failing to move towards the cross and clear despite having an obvious special advantage on Jamie Vardy. Vardy caused problems all afternoon with Coady’s lack of pace a concern. He did redeem himself on more than one occasion with a last-ditch tackle, but his performance will have to improve if Wolves are to persist with a higher defensive line. 5/10

 

Romain Saiss

Like Coady, Saiss struggled with the pace of the Leicester forward line and was often found slacking in the higher defensive line which Lage wants to implement. He was strong in the air when defending set pieces, but his struggles have highlighted the need for defensive reinforcements before the transfer window closes at the end of the month. 6/10

 

Ki-Jana Hoever

Given his chance from the off with Nelson Semedo having missed a week’s training due to COVID-19 isolation and Hoever certainly did not do himself any harm with an impressive performance. Hoever was strong in the challenge and defended well in partnership with Kilman. He looked far more comfortable on the ball in comparison to last season and looked to link with Trincao down the right-hand side. If he improves his final ball Hoever could become an excellent option at right wing back this season. 7/10

 

Joao Moutinho

Was widely tipped to leave Molineux this summer but Moutinho looks set to stay for a fourth season in the West Midlands. He produced a solid display on the ball with an obvious increased intensity in comparison to last season. His pass through for Traore to create the chance of the first half was sublime, but his set pieces were poor and led to him giving up duties to Trincao in the second half. 6/10

 

Ruben Neves

Like Moutinho, Ruben Neves was solid in the midfield and didn’t really put a foot wrong. He will have wanted to have a greater impact on the game in the final third as he plays in a slightly more advanced role under new Head Coach Bruno Lage. 6/10

 

Marcal

The forgotten man from last season had an excellent pre-season and continued this form into the league. He looked comfortable at left wing-back and looked to contribute to attacks where possible. He will perhaps be disappointed to have let Ricardo put the cross in for the goal but otherwise had an impressive afternoon and could be a very useful option if he can remain fit this season. 7/10

 

Francisco Trincao

Wolves’ second Premier League debutant showed glimpses of quality and technical ability without having a real impact on the game. He had one good chance cutting in on his left foot in the penalty area, but his shot was blocked. He also showed to be a competent set piece taker which will be a welcome sight to many fans after causing much frustration last season. 6/10

 

Raul Jimenez

A very welcome sight to see Wolves’ number nine back out in competitive action again in front his adoring fans. Jimenez did not get into the game as he would have wished, but still showed glimpses of his old self in his hold up play and aerial presence in the penalty area. Hand any of Traore’s glaring chances fell to the Mexican Wolves would almost certainly have walked away from the King Power with something to show for it. 6/10

 

Adama Traore

The main talking point of the afternoon was most definitely Adama Traore. Used his pace to great effect all afternoon and terrorised the Leicester defence who quite simply could not cope with him. Quite how he didn’t score one of his three glorious chances only he could answer, and he will no doubt feel responsible for Wolves not taking at least a share of the spoils. There is no hiding it, Traore should be scoring the chances that he created. 5/10

 

Subs:

Leander Dendoncker

Came on to add more physicality to the midfield as Wolves pushed more men forward in the second half. Did his job well without having any real impact on Wolves going forward in their search for an equaliser. 6/10

 

Morgan Gibbs-White

His fresh legs injected great energy into Wolves just as they started to tire, and he was at the heart of the late spell of pressure from the away side. Unfortunately, none of the half chances that he created resulted in the equaliser Wolves so desperately wanted. 6/10

 

Fabio Silva

Played the final five minutes meaning he had little chance to get into the game. Would have perhaps been better to bring him on earlier and try to stretch the Leicester back line more. N/A

 

Ciaran Barker is part of the Talking Wolves editorial team – you can follow him on Twitter here.

King Power

Leicester City 1-0 Wolves Player Ratings

Leicester City overcame a poor Wolverhampton Wanderers side who failed to show any ambition in going forward for large parts of the game. It was a frustrating afternoon for Wolves, who had looked better in previous weeks but it was the Wolves of old that turned up at the King Power as Nuno’s men reverted back to type.

Although it was a poor Wolves performance, the result was overshadowed by a shocking VAR decision by Anthony Taylor who failed to watch VAR back in real-time, despite the head of VAR claiming it wasn’t a penalty. This sort of incompetence should result in some sort of disciplinary for a referee who’s clearly out of his depth.

Rui Patricio

Massive penalty save to keep the score at 1-0 – even if he did take it full force in the knackers. The lack of distance on his goal kicks did put Wolves under unnecessary pressure from time to time as Leicester regained possession higher up the pitch. 7/10

Rayan Aït Nouri

A brain dead decision to give away the penalty in the first half which could perhaps be explained by a lack of maturity and experience. You simply can’t be diving in blindly in the penalty area in 2020. A massive contrast in performances compared to the Palace game. 3/10

Max Kilman

Was incredibly unlucky to have a penalty given against for a decision that is nothing short of disgraceful but was also quite sloppy in possession. Should have buried a chance that fell at his feet in the 67th minute that would have put the game on level terms. Did incredibly well to get around on the cover to deny Barnes late on to keep Wolves in the game. Just like Aït Nouri, his performance wasn’t up to the standard of his previous outing. 6/10

Conor Coady

Didn’t have to do much at all but Vardy did get in front of him on a couple of occasions that could have been costly. Couldn’t really get on the ball and hit those diagonals we’ve all become accustomed to but this was probably due to the way Rodgers had set his team up to nullify Wolves’ play which can be very one dimensional. 6/10

Willy Boly

Defended the six-yard box aerially all game and was probably the pick of the defence. Would love to see Boly and co bring the ball out from the back more often just like Fofana had done for Leicester. 7/10

Nelson Semedo

The only Wolves player in the first half that showed any positive and willingness to get forward and make things happen. He’s really stepped up the past few weeks and is looking some player – if only his teammates showed as much ambition as he did. 8/10

Ruben Neves

A sloppy pass was intercepted early on when he could have set Daniel Podence free and slowed play down far too much. Maddison and Tielemans ran rings around both him and Dendoncker in the first half. His lack of legs is a real issue in games like this as players like Maddison just run off him like he’s not even there. He was so unlucky not to get on the scoresheet – it looked all but in until Schmeichel pulled one out the top drawer. 6/10

Leander Dendoncker

Both him and Neves looked lost in the centre of midfield in the first half as they struggled to have any impression on the game. Probably his worst game in a Wolves shirt in a while after such a great start to the season. 5/10

Pedro Neto

Drove the team forward early on but couldn’t find a man when it mattered. Had a good effort saved by Schmeichel in the second half that he could have perhaps done better with. Neto did always seem busy throughout the game but it wasn’t his best game. 6/10

Daniel Podence

Struggled to get into the game at all and was crowded out more often than not. Picked up the ball more centrally in the second half in which Wolves did look marginally more threatening. Was probably the right man to come off for Adama Traore. 6/10

Raul Jimenez

Forgot he was on the pitch in the first half but I think that says more about the horrific style of football we had to witness. Was a little more involved in the second half but the game passed him by as it seems to do on occasions. 4/10

Subs

Adama Traore

Injected a bit of life into the game and his introduction changed the way that Leicester approached the game as they looked to nullify his threat. 6/10

Fabio Silva

Didn’t have much impact on the game in the time he had on the pitch. N/A

Marcal

Didn’t have much impact on the game in the time he had on the pitch. N/A

 

Matt Cooper is a Talking Wolves founder, you can follow him on Twitter here.