The Joe Edwards debrief – Leicester 1 Wolves 0

Although understandably aggrieved over the handball debacle, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side never really got going at the King Power and there is work to be done.

Dubious decision

Right, let’s get it out of the way before focusing on the sub-par performance.

Wolves were not at the races, but how on earth is that a penalty?

Max Kilman had a powerful Dennis Praet cross smacked against his arm from, at the very most, three yards away.

Then, referee Anthony Taylor watched it back on the pitchside monitor – in slow motion nonetheless – and pointed to the spot.

To make matters even more farcical, the VAR officials at Stockley Park seemed to be arguing over the incident at half-time.

Again, the finger cannot just be pointed at that as Wolves did not do enough on the whole, but it still does not excuse these ridiculous decisions.

The handball rule needs a serious review once more. Surely, some common sense can come into it soon as what else can Kilman do there?

Too slow

Now, on to the showing, which was not inspiring.

It has been a recurring theme so far this season that – apart from Crystal Palace, and the first half at Sheffield United – Wolves have not been that entertaining to watch.

And this game just kind of passed them by as well.

Being down about the handball decision for a bit could be forgiven, but there was an overall lack of urgency, conviction and willingness to take risks.

Leicester, of course, had a second penalty which was saved by Rui Patricio, but it was hardly as if they were out of sight.

Had Wolves turned the screw a bit earlier or been more diverse in their play, who knows what could have happened?

Instead, most of the passes were sideways and backwards, allowing the Foxes to pack men behind the ball and hold on to their lead.

Ruben Neves forced Kasper Schmeichel into a superb save, but that was it. They need to be doing a lot more.

Off-days

Too many players had off-days – and Neves was one of them. The Portuguese, who is such a delight when at his free-flowing best, was often guilty of taking too much time in possession.

His free-kick from the edge of the box in the second half was awful, too. Now 34 league games without a goal, performances like this show why that’s the case.

There just is not enough intent about his play at the moment and Joao Moutinho, although he did not even get on the pitch on Sunday, may fancy his chances of starting against Southampton next time out.

Rayan Ait-Nouri was also brought down to earth with a thud.

It was a dream debut for him against Palace, but this was right at the other end of the spectrum.

So early into his senior career, it may be a while until he gets proper consistency in his performances but, either way, he will have to dust himself down quickly.

Having tripped James Justin for a stonewall penalty and been dispossessed multiple times throughout the game, he really found out what the Premier League is about.

Fernando Marcal, who came on for the last quarter-of-an-hour, certainly seems the safer option for the coming weeks.

What’s to come

Ultimately, Wolves need to improve for a difficult run through late November and December.

Defensively, there is not a great deal wrong, but in attack – eight goals from eight games – it simply has not been good enough and if they carry on in that vein, they will be dealt with pretty comfortably by the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham.