Wolves blog: Two games in, lots to learn
So the invincible season is shelved – until next season, anyway.
It has been a tough start for Wolves in their Premier League return, with one point from the first two games.
And with Man City at home and West Ham away next up, Wolves are facing the distinct possibility of entering the international break with just a single point from four matches.
Hopefully this won’t be the case and Wolves can match or better their draw with Man City in the League Cup last season.
If Wolves don’t manage to get anything from their next two fixtures, they shouldn’t be disheartened – they were handed the toughest start in the entire league, statistically.
Besides, they could just as easily have been sitting pretty with six points after their first two games.
Where Wolves seemed nervous against Everton at Molineux, they seemed to shed that fear at the King Power on Saturday.
Both Leicester goals had at least a small element of luck and Wolves, by contrast, were luckless.
Hitting the woodwork on numerous occasions and a glaring miss by Matt Doherty: Wolves did enough to deserve something from the match.
But even last season when we won the league, taking our chances and being more clinical was our biggest weakness.
This will be punished more severely in the Premier League than the Championship.
Diogo Jota lost possession in the build-up to both Leicester goals, running down a blind alley. Wilfred Ndidi did well to win the ball for the second, but it’s not like Jota to lose possession so easily.
Matt Doherty scored what will probably go down as the best own goal of the season – if he’d shown such prolificity at the other end, it could have been a different result!
There are plenty of positives to build on, though. Raul Jimenez links the play up really well and seems to suit the formation – he will be a key player this season.
Joao Moutinho showed us more of what he is about after a fairly quiet game against Everton, with some clever passing and a good shot that disappointingly hit the bar.
Adama Traore is going to be a problem for opponents this season. He can cause mayhem when running between defenders and is already the player with the most dribbles this season, ahead of a certain Leo Messi – in just 45 minutes of gameplay.
And a 57 per cent possession rate again shows we are able to hold our own in this division.
Results aren’t far away for Nuno and his team, and although Man City will be something of a ‘free hit’, it would be folly to rule out a surprise point – or three.
But this team shouldn’t be judged just yet – it’s far too early and we haven’t looked out of place so far.
