Wolves debrief: Off the pace with winless run stretching to seven
It was a disappointing evening for Wolves on Wednesday as they were narrowly but deservedly beaten by Bournemouth.
The 1-0 defeat made it seven without a win for Gary O’Neil’s men in an action-packed game which involved VAR controversy, Bournemouth ending with 10 men and a lacklustre display from the hosts.
Ultimately, Antoine Semenyo’s goal from close range just before the break was the difference – but what were the talking points?
Off the pace
From a Wolves perspective, they were not at the races. They put in a big shift against Arsenal on Saturday for no reward, and they were unable to back that up just a few days later.
They were guilty of handing the ball back to their opponents on far too many occasions when under no real pressure, and they struggled to cope with Bournemouth’s threat.
Dominic Solanke, who has scored 18 Premier League goals this season, was a real handful, and the Wolves defenders struggled to come to terms with his physicality.
There was a shift in formation too from Gary O’Neil as he opted for 4-3-3. Mario Lemina was the deepest midfielder, with Tommy Doyle and Joao Gomes just ahead of him and Rayan Ait-Nouri in a more advanced role on the left.
It is fair to say that did not work at all in the first half, which was without a doubt Wolves’ worst half of the two. They did improve a little after the break but despite huffing and puffing they never looked like scoring.
VAR controversy
