Julen Lopetegui: Wolves must take advantage of golden periods in games
Julen Lopetegui believes Wolves’ failure to capitalise on their lead was the catalyst for their defeat at Leicester.
A very good first half performance saw Matheus Cunha give Wolves the lead, as they continued to dominate the fixture.
However, they failed to turn that dominance into more goals, and after conceding a penalty late in the half, then lost the game in the 75th minute.
Lopetegui has now warned his side to take advantage of their periods of momentum, after they fell to defeat.
He said: “We had a good 55 minutes. Very good, but we had the possibility to damage them more and score the second goal, and we didn’t do it.
“When you don’t damage the opponent when you can do it, be aware that you are going to suffer.
“This is elite football and it’s rule number one. Unfortunately it happened for us.
“Of course, we have a frustration because we didn’t get anything positive here.
“We have to recover very fast. We have a very hard challenge in three days.
“It was a pity because I think we did some very good things, but not enough to get anything positive here.
“If you want to win or draw away, it’s not about playing 25 good minutes, you have to do more things and keep your focus and attention on the little details until the end.”
Jose Sa’s mistake saw him bring down Jamie Vardy in the box for the first half penalty, which Kelechi Iheanacho converted.
Leicester then improved in the second half before finding the winner through Timothy Castagne.
When asked if that penalty was the turning point in the game, Lopetegui said: “Maybe, but it’s part of the match and we have to accept it.
“It can happen and after you have work to do. You have to continue working, you have to put the focus on the things you are doing well and continue.
“If you want to win matches in the Premier League, you have to overcome these kind of difficulties and situations.”
When asked about individual mistakes costing Wolves, Lopetegui added: “This is part of football and we have to accept it.
“We have to try to avoid this mistake and this situation of course, and take advantage of the good things you have done.”
As well as throwing away a victory and tasting defeat, Wolves also suffered a major blow when Mario Lemina suffered a hamstring injury.
The midfielder had an excellent first half and his intense pressing set up Cunha for the opening goal, but he was withdrawn at half-time and replaced by Ruben Neves.
Lopetegui said: “He has a hamstring injury.
“It was a pity because he was playing very, very well in the first half, in my opinion. It was a pity for us.”
Lemina was seen walking unaided after the game, and when asked how severe the injury is, Lopetegui added: “I don’t know, we will have to assess him tomorrow (Sunday). I can’t answer that.”
With a quick turnaround for the clash with Crystal Palace, Lopetegui will now have a decision to make with his squad if Lemina is unavailable.
Boubacar Traore is now back fit but has yet to make a matchday squad since his return, so it could be a timely opportunity for the Mali international to come back into the Wolves fold.
