Sheffield United 0 Wolves 2 – Player ratings
Joe Edwards rates the players as Wolves begin the new season with a 2-0 victory at Sheffield United.
Rui Patricio
The Portuguese will be delighted to have kicked off 2020/21 with a clean sheet.
Made a few routine saves as the Blades piled on the pressure in the second half. 7
Willy Boly
Boly was left a little exposed at times as Traore – understandably given right-wing-back is not his proper position – struggled a bit in the second period.
Still played his part in keeping the hosts at bay towards the end. 7
Conor Coady
Came to the fore after the break, organising the backline and making some timely blocks.
Buoyed by his successful England debut, he did everything he had to do well. 8
Romain Saiss
What a performance from the Moroccan! Came up with a bullet header to make it 2-0 and went close to scoring on a couple more occasions.
His run up from centre-back to latch onto Jimenez's pass, before forcing Ramsdale into a sharp save, was astounding.
Cleared a McBurnie header off the line late on, too. He was like a man possessed. Absolutely brilliant. Man of the match. 9
Adama Traore
Was caught out a few times defensively but you cannot fault him too much for that.
Displayed his prowess once moved further forward. 7
Joao Moutinho
Cleverly picked out Podence in the build-up to the opener – a perfectly-weighted pass.
Covered plenty of ground and put in some decent deliveries as well. 7
Leander Dendoncker
Was keen to support the attackers wherever he could.
A good example of that was when he crossed the ball to Jimenez, whose shot was tipped over by Ramsdale. Full of energy, as ever. 7
Fernando Marcal
A no-nonsense, solid debut from the Brazilian.
He did not shirk a tackle, looked strong and was productive with the ball. Slotted in seamlessly. 8
Pedro Neto
Playing in a free role at times, Neto often found pockets of space and caused problems for the Blades' backline.
Got the assist for the header from Saiss and put on the afterburners on a couple of occasions to get Wolves up the pitch. 8
Raul Jimenez
An excellent display from the Mexican. That finish was outrageous.
A fantastic counter-attack was rounded off in superb style – not many could have come up with that strike. So confident and so skilful. 9
Daniel Podence
Similarly to Neto, Podence was everywhere for Wolves – especially in the first half.
The way he left Lundstram for dead before teeing up Jimenez was a thing of beauty. Could be a big player this season. 8
Subs
Oskar Buur (for Neto, 69)
A decent outing for the Dane, making his Premier League bow. 7
Ruben Neves (for Podence, 76)
Some nice touches as Wolves saw out the win. 7
Vitinha (for Moutinho, 86)
N/A
Not used: Ruddy (gk), Vinagre, Jota, Silva
