Hull 2 Wolves 3 – Five talking points

Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota and Nouha Dicko were on the scoresheet at the KCOM Stadium.

Nuno Espirito Santo's team were pushed all the way by the Tigers who scored a late penalty to keep.

But what did we learn from the game? Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers picks out five talking points.

Big test of character

You could say Boro didn't really turn up on the opening day, or that the stunning second half blitz at Derby could have been a one off...but no, Wolves keep delivering – and they passed their biggest test so far at Hull.

This was a proper muck and nettles Championship game and Wolves were leaning back against the ropes in the second half.

With the score at 2-1 the hosts twice went desperately close to equalising, with Abel Hernandez hitting the post and John Ruddy making an excellent save from Fraizer Campbell.

But Wolves saw it through. They survived and thrived. And they've now beaten not one, not two but three teams tipped to be fighting for promotion this season.

Hull are certainly no mugs. They thumped Burton 4-1 on Saturday and at the start of the evening were revelling in their newfound optimism under new boss Leonid Slutsky.

Wolves burst their bubble through two moments of first half brilliance and then got stuck in after the break to fight, to battle and to win.

The football played at Pride Park was scintillating but this victory, coming just four days later, was more impressive.

Naughty Neves

The man who kicked all off was Ruben Diogo da Silva Neves. With one almighty swing of that cultivated right boot he unleashed an early contender for goal of the season.

Alan Partridge would call it a thriker. Your Wolves correspondent, if such terms were acceptable on the Express & Star website, would call it filthy.

But however you describe it – and Nuno plumped for 'poetry' – it was a truly wonderful strike. If you haven't seen it yet, seek out the footage today...Wolves just don't score goals like that.

With Romain Saiss (and by the way the pair look like the best fit for a double act since Morecambe and Wise) sitting deep Neves can push further forward. With this firepower in his locker the £15million man could be scoring a few more 'worldies' before the season is out.

His all-round game was excellent, though, with possession seldom wasted. And his crossfield passes to the flanks are on the money every single time.

No weak link

The 3-4-3 formation has worked to the letter so far and that's testament to a hugely successful pre-season in which Nuno rigorously drilled his methods into the squad during daily double sessions.

From a high vantage point up in the Gods of the Hull City press box you could see just how well marshalled the team is in terms of shape and positioning.

Everyone seems to know his role inside out. Nuno has taken a number of key but simple messages and repeated them continuously until they stick...and the fruits of that labour have paid off surprisingly quickly.

You look at the XI and there's no obvious weak link. Leo Bonatini is perhaps the one that has the most to prove in terms of his quality in this league but he did a good job at the KCOM leading the line, doing the dirty work and linking play when he could.

At times the Brazilian's was a thankless task – he played with his back to goal for most of the match and that meant he wasn't in the right place at the right time to feed off the service into the box.

There's still a question mark over whether Wolves will bring a striker in, and Nouha Dicko again made his point with another goal, his second of the season.

But elsewhere – and with Helder Costa and Ben Marshall still to return – Wolves are bursting with creativity and quality.

Set pieces

It wasn't all sunshine and roses. The defending from set pieces left a lot to be desired – Wolves looked uncomfortable and hesitant when balls were flung into the box and the zonal marking utilised at corners and free kicks doesn't fill you with confidence.

Hull scored from one corner, hit the bar from another and also had a header cleared off the line, again from a corner.

Nuno admitted it was a concern, so expect plenty of work on that on the training ground this week.

Other than that his team dealt with everything thrown at them and the scoreline was given a slightly flattering look for Hull when they were awarded a soft penalty in the dying seconds.

Daring to dream

The victory gave Wolves their best start to a league season since 1998, when Steve Bull and Robbie Keane were briefly in tandem.

Mark McGhee's side won their first four league games but it wasn't to last. Just two more wins followed before November and McGhee was sacked.

You don't get the impression that Nuno's 2017 version will go the same way. This looks like a team built to last – and indeed Hull boss Leonid Slutsky hailed Wolves as the best team in the Championship (having studied all 24 sides in some detail, he added).

In years gone by Wolves would have crumbled during that pressurised second half spell.

But nothing is fazing these players at the moment. And when you look at the pedigree of the likes of Neves, Jota, Boly and Ruddy...why would it?

These guys have all played for top flight clubs in intense environments. And the man charged with bringing this all together, Nuno, has managed at Porto where he was expected to win every game, and at Valencia where fourth place in La Liga was the bare minimum requirement.

So Cardiff at home on Saturday, against the early league leaders at an expectant Molineux, might ordinarily be the game in which Wolves fall flat on their face. Heck, it still might be, we don't know.

But under their methodical and level-headed boss you can guarantee that Wolves will be organised, prepared, focused...and not fazed.