Wolves comment: Joao Moutinho and friends look out of this world

The League Two jibe might be an unfair playground comparison, but one thing is for certain, the Cherries looked like a side unfit to lace Joao Moutinho’s boots when that chant echoed out just before the break.

The grim grumbles from the home faithful accepted that the dominance, power and pace of Wolves’ first-half performance saw their men unworthy of gracing the same pitch of Moutinho, Raul Jimenez and company.

Like a fine wine, Moutinho just gets better with age and on a day that saw him commit his future to Wolves, he would end a 14-month goal drought to sew the seeds of victory.

Bournemouth though, at times, were also the architects of their own downfall. It was a sign of respect to Wolves when the teams sheets came out that Eddie Howe had opted to mirror Nuno’s 3-4-3.

But that move and the decision to bring veteran defender Simon Francis back into the side to replace injured attacker Josh King would haunt Howe.

Howe’s plan, it appeared, was to try and block Wolves’ wing-wizards – the right idea, perhaps, but his tactics were executed terribly by his men. His formation allowed Moutinho to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and let Wolves use the pace of Adama Traore and Diogo Jota.

It was all a bit rough and tumble from Howe’s charges as they took a physical approach to dent Wolves’ pace-men and stop the attacks. But, like his defensive shift would back-fire, the attempt to outmuscle Wolves only set the stage for Moutinho.

Adama Traore’s dominance of his right flank left Bournemouth with a false sense of security when dealing with Wolves’ left as Jota focused on weak link Francis.

The left-sided forward raced towards goal, only for Francis to chop him down – Jota too quick and too clever for the Bournemouth man.

He’d pick up a second yellow for fouling Jota again, tugging back the forward eight minutes before the half-time whistle to leave his side with a an even tougher battle. They’d improve without him, but the damage was done.

The biggest mistake, though, was to give Moutinho a dead-ball situation just outside the box.

Skipper Conor Coady joked in his press that it was a cross, but for mystical Moutinho you get the feeling that sweep into the top corner that was no fluke.

One of the major talking points of recent weeks has been the defence and how well Leander Dendoncker, Coady and Romain Saiss have adapted despite a lack of minutes on the training pitch.

The beauty, intelligence and accuracy of some of that first-half play is more awe-inspiring given that all but three of that starting XI remained at Compton Park this international break.

Only Coady, Jonny and Traore stayed in Wolverhampton, the rest just picking up where they left off as Nuno named an unchanged side from the 2-1 victory over Villa. The fact they all seamlessly slot into different roles and positions without the mass of hours on the training pitch is a credit to the methods of Nuno.

That choice to work with a small squad pays dividends in that they know their roles and have built a near telepathic knowledge of each others’ games that led to that first-half showing.

The psychic connection is evident in the free-kicks too.

From the Neves strike at Villa to Moutinho slicing open Bournemouth – again after a nasty Bournemouth challenge on Traore.

The speedster dusted himself down to latch on to a straight ball down the flank from Moutinho and fizzed the ball in, where Jimenez was alert as ever to rifle home his 14th of the season.

Given the air miles that Wolves have racked up in recent weeks, they did not hit the heights of the first half in the second 45 – though it should have been easier as Nuno’s men gave the Cherries a whisker of hope.

Wolves took their foot off the gas after that first-half showing and Bournemouth just simply upped their game, with a shift to 4-4-1 aiding their exploits.

At times, it did not feel like watching 10 versus 11, but it does feel like Wolves have been battling an extra man this term – the officials.

Jimenez had raced back from what the officials felt was an offside position to play a one-two that would send Jota through on goal.

The flag went up and, despite all that we have been told about the need to allow play to go on for VAR checks, Simon Hooper blew his whistle. Jota completed his task, but it was automatically erased. Another ghost goal.

Wolves were guilty of wasting corner opportunities and Steve Cook diverted a Diego Rico corner from the right at the near post in the 57th minute.

Jimenez and Jota wasted two golden chances to put the game to bed, but it set the stage for Rui Patricio to shine.

He showed his world-class credentials to thwart Nathan Ake’s point-blank acrobatic effort.

As cool as a cucumber in his green strip, Patricio was as vital to this victory as the mystical Moutinho.

His calmness has been a big factor in that seamless shift for Dendoncker, Coady and Saiss at the back. They needed his nerves of steel and that save helped propel them up to fifth, albeit for a day.

Though the second half was not as magical as the first, it allowed the resilience of this side to shine through, masterful in its own right. Bournemouth may not be Walsall, but the chant had some truth – Wolves were just in a league of their own in that first half.