Express & Star

Wolves super-sub Ivan Cavaleiro hails 'perfect' day

Super-sub Ivan Cavaleiro said he had a 'perfect' Premier League debut after his goal helped Wolves to another Premier League win.

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Ivan Cavaleiro scored with his first touch (© AMA / Sam Bagnall)

Nuno Espirito Santo's team are up to eighth in the table following Saturday's 2-0 win over Southampton.

Cavaleiro came off the bench and scored with his first touch of the ball to break the deadlock in the 79th minute at Molineux.

The Portuguese forward was making his Premier League bow after missing the first six weeks of the campaign with a back injury.

But he showed a clinical finishing touch that Wolves have been lacking so far to take Raul Jimenez's pass and beat Saints keeper Alex McCarthy.

The 24-year-old said: ""My first match and my first goal, I'm very happy with that.

"I'm very happy with the win, I think we did well. It's very important to win at home, a clean sheet, I hope we can have more days like this.

"It was perfect, but (it comes after) those days, those hard days in and seeing my team mates working, winning. It's very good to be here with them, with the fans, with all the staff as well.

"They helped me a lot during my recovery. I'm very thankful and very happy for that, I feel like they like me and thank you for the support."

Cavaleiro missed a chunk of pre-season with the troublesome back problem.

Wolves tried managing his workload at first, before the player was advised to take total rest for a number of weeks.

Now he's returned to action he's intent on making an impact in the Premier League.

"It felt good to hear the crowd sing my name, it's very good when you feel that the fans want us on the pitch," he added.

"They want us to collaborate in the game and I'm very happy for that."

Wolves are unbeaten in five Premier League matches, having kept clean sheets in three of those and have only lost once this season away at Leicester City, where they hit the woodwork three times.

Fans are starting to dream about what heights their team can hit this season – and Cavaleiro says they can 'go far'.

"The confidence is the same because our goal, it's step by step, winning as many pints as you can and we have to continue with this mentality," he added.

"I think like that, we can go far in the Premier League."