The Joe Edwards debrief - Southampton 1 Wolves 2
Having looked completely down and out at half-time, Wolves yet again managed a sensational comeback to win at Southampton.
After a miraculous 3-2 triumph at St Mary’s last season, they picked up an also-bonkers 2-1 victory this time around – lifting spirits and bumping them up the Premier League table.
Pedro’s prowess
It was a topsy-turvy 90 minutes, but it would be a crime to start with anything other than Pedro Neto’s wonderful solo effort.
Let’s be clear, it was a world-class goal from a player who should be able to go as far as he wants in the game.
Scoring like that – leaving Jannik Vestergaard in a spin and then firing beyond the hapless Alex McCarthy in an instant – takes a ridiculous amount of ability and incredible belief in yourself.
Neto is fantastic, and he knows it. Don’t get me wrong, he is not arrogant, but you need bucketloads of confidence to be a feared and productive attacker.
Most would not have even thought about finding the net in such a manner, let alone pulling it off.
Neto is leading the way in both goals and assists for Wolves.
He is embracing his role as key man, and long may it continue.
Nuno’s tweak
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo deserves credit, too.
It has been a difficult period for him and his team, and some decisions he has made as of late have been criticised – understandably so.
The FA Cup exit at the hands of the Saints last week while fielding a much-changed team still stings, but Nuno’s half-time change on Sunday worked an absolute treat. Swapping Neto and Adama Traore around – and asking them to play more centrally – was too much for Southampton to handle.
It also allowed Nelson Semedo, who was instrumental in winning the penalty, to successfully burst forward from right-wing-back while Ruben Neves, who kept his cool from the spot, was far less isolated in the middle of the park.
Everything worked and made sense.They went from looking like a collection of individuals devoid of energy and ideas in the first half, to a well-oiled machine in the second.
Surely, that is the template to use moving forward – and from the start of games as well.
Reliable Rui
Neto was the match-winner with his piece of brilliance, of course, but compatriot Rui Patricio also played his part at the other end.
Another who has come under scrutiny for some uncharacteristic errors this season, he was back on song against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men.
His double-save to keep out both James Ward-Prowse and Che Adams was vital in seeing out the victory while his finger-tip stop to deny Nathan Redmond in the first half was also mightily impressive.
When Patricio is on his mettle, he is firmly up there as one of the best keepers the top flight has to offer.
Willian’s woes
Up to 12th and three unbeaten, this was a morale-boosting triumph but there are still areas to address.
Perhaps the most pressing of those is up front, with Willian Jose still yet to find the net for Wolves.
That seems to be down to a lack of service, but also a lack of movement from the Real Sociedad loanee. Ultimately, Jose has not had a great influence on the last couple of games.
The first few were encouraging and it seemed a matter of time until he scored, but he never really looked like netting at St Mary’s. Hopefully, Neto and Traore continue more centrally and the Brazilian can break his duck soon.
