Express & Star

Besiktas 0 Wolves 1 – Europa League player ratings

Joe Edwards rates the players as Wolves beat Besiktas in the Europa League courtesy of Willy Boly's last-gasp strike.

Published
Wolves celebrate their late winner (AMA)

Rui Patricio

Did not have to make any major saves. But a clean sheet is a clean sheet. 7

Willy Boly

Made an excellent block to deny Nayir from scoring in the first half, tracking the striker's run and sliding in at just the right time. Nayir pounded the floor in frustration, Boly stood there coolly. He then displayed so much composure to win it in stoppage-time. A finish any striker in the world would have been proud of – phenomenally controlling the pass from Neves and slotting it past Karius. Man of the match for Wolves, by a mile. 9

Conor Coady

Made a solid covering tackle as Besiktas looked to grab a winner towards the end, with Wolves hitting the back of the net soon after. 7

Romain Saiss

Guilty of giving away too many free-kicks, to be honest. However, you could not accuse the Moroccan of shying away from the action. He stuck his head in where it hurts on many occasions. 7

Matt Doherty

The Irishman has put in more eye-catching performances, but another 90 minutes under the belt as he helped Wolves keep a clean sheet. 7

Ruben Neves

For a large part of the night, Neves dropped deep and did not have a say in the final third. But, once he got into a dangerous area, he made the most of it, supplying the ball to Boly who finished deep into added-on time. 7

Joao Moutinho

Not at his best, giving the ball away a few times, but it is always a joy to see a 33-year-old cover so much ground, with so much vigour. 7

Jonny Castro Otto

Was always an option on the attack as Wolves applied more pressure towards the end – and got their goal. 7

Morgan Gibbs-White

Got a bit longer on the pitch than Neto. He was just as ineffective, though. A wasted opportunity to release Jimenez early on saw Gibbs-White begin on the wrong foot, and he never recovered – loose touches, rushing things. 5

Raul Jimenez

Let's not beat around the bush, Jimenez is knackered and the international break cannot come soon enough for him. That being said, he was short of service and, when he did have the ball, he did OK. 6

Pedro Neto

Had a fair amount of service down the left-hand side but gifted the ball back to Besiktas on several occasions. Neto did not show his quality on the banks of the Bosphorus and was taken off at the interval. Douglas did a job on him. 5

Subs

Adama Traore (for Neto, 46)

Certainly provided Wolves with more of a threat down the right flank. 7

Leander Dendoncker (for Gibbs-White, 61)

Put himself about without having a huge impact. 6

Patrick Cutrone (for Jimenez, 79)

Went close with a right-footed curler that sailed narrowly wide of the far post late on. Tenacious in his short time on the pitch. 7

Not used: Ruddy (gk), Vallejo, Bennett, Vinagre