The Tim Spiers debrief – Wolves 4 Leicester 3

Wolves have produced some special, special days under Nuno Espirito Santo and this was up there with the best of them.

Bonkers

Games like this don't come around very often.

The 'we score, you score' basketball-style, end-to-end madness with late drama, euphoric winners, inconsolable losers or two punch drunk boxers after a dead-heat draw ...they're a rare beast.

Wolves' most recent in this genre was probably the 4-4 against Fulham in last 2017 when Molineux lost its collective head thinking Dave Edwards had scored a 90th minute winner – only for Fulham to poop the party with a 94th minute equaliser.

Before that? The 4-3 win over Leeds in 2015 when Wolves were chasing a play-off spot (Edwards' winner stayed a winner that time) and of course a year earlier was the ultimate goal-fest when Rotherham were beaten 6-4 amid a Nouha Dicko hat-trick, giddy delirium and pitch invasions galore.

The difference with this latest bonkers thriller was that it was played out on a global stage – a televised Premier League match that had the nation fawning and Jamie Carragher saying it was a true pleasure to be there (it still wasn't first on Match of the Day, though).

The scenes after Jota's winner, supporters losing their damn minds and Nuno running on the pitch, will remain in the memory bank for a long, long time.

It's a season of increasingly magical memories – outplaying and beating Spurs at Wembley, coming from behind to beat Chelsea, winning in the last minute at West Ham and Newcastle and downing Liverpool in the FA Cup – but this one might top the lot.

And the way Wolves are going you'd expect there to be a few more before the season is out.

Standard set

When analysing the performance there's a clear dividing line between the attackers and the defenders.

Going forward, Wolves set the standard they should aspire to for the rest of the campaign.

They were decisive, creative and, as often hasn't been the case this season, they were clinical.

Yes, Leicester's defending was as generous as Mother Theresa at Christmas but Wolves took full advantage to score more than two goals at Molineux for the first time since March 2018 (3-1 against Burton).

Defensively it was a different story. Rui Patricio set the tone early on with a spell of careless buffoonery that would have made Bumblebee Man from the Simpsons blush.

And then for each of Leicester's goals you can point out individual mistakes.

Goal 1 – Bennett mis-times his jump, Saiss is beaten all ends up by Gray.

Goal 2 – Jonny (although perhaps impeded) presents the ball to Barnes, collective statue-impersonating from the rest, Coady allows the ball through his legs.

Goal 3 – Jonny gives away a free-kick, Patricio's rooted to his line and Dendoncker is out-muscled by Morgan (admittedly the delivery was superb).

When the post-match elation had died down, the talk from Nuno, Coady and Jota was of improving their defensive stability.

Of course, Wolves sorely missed Willy Boly. His replacement Saiss had an uncomfortable afternoon and Wolves looked better balanced with Jonny at left wing-back and Matt Doherty on the opposite flank, with Vinagre not convincing either, although none of the wing-backs performed to their highest standards.

When the dust has settled on a fabulous victory, it'll be their defensive lapses that Nuno concentrates on.

Back to their best

Wolves had many heroes in their Championship title success but the two players you really thought were far too good for that level – and surely destined for super-stardom – were Neves and Jota.

For one reason or another, neither player had truly announced himself on the Premier League stage, with Neves perhaps struggling to adapt to his different role this season and Jota struggling from pre-season onwards.

For both players, the penny seems to have dropped. In recent weeks Neves has begun to dominate games and Jota has started adding goals and assists with his confidence having returned.

On Saturday we saw near perfection from both.

Neves was beyond sublime. His precise, perfect passing range was back – he was spraying balls that most other players don't even think of, let alone have the technique to executive them with nonchalant flawlessness. The pass to Jimenez for the winner was exquisite.

Together the pair worked in harmony. Jota made the runs, Neves spotted them before defenders did. The forward took his goals with precision and bullishness.

Ably assisted by Leander Dendoncker, who did the dirty work that the Portuguese has been employed to do of late, Neves flourished.

He and Jota can lift Wolves to new heights this season.

Formula cracked?

For the first time this campaign, Nuno utilised three in midfield against a team outside the top six.

One of Wolves' problems against teams who try and stifle them more than the big guns has been getting the ball to their forward players in key areas, or isolating opposition defenders.

Three in midfield offers the opportunity for more control in possession. Dendoncker playing a box-to-box role allows Neves to play his natural game and then Jota can push higher up the field and play off the last man, to great effect.

Wolves also won more second balls and produced a series of eye-catching intricate passing moves, mostly involving the majestic Moutinho.

The partnership between Jota and the inspirational Jimenez also looks promising, with the pair appearing to have a good understanding.

Season-defining

All of which gets Wolves' potential season-defining few weeks off to the perfect start.

If Nuno can begin consistently engineering results against the teams around and below Wolves in the table, then fixtures against West Ham (10th), Everton (11th), Newcastle (17th), Bournemouth (12th), Huddersfield (20th) and Cardiff (18th) in their next six offer a huge opportunity to place a marker down for that seventh spot.

Combine that with a run in the FA Cup and, well, let's just say it's a tantalising prospect.

Final word

Star man: Diogo Jota

The boss: Found his formula?

Fans: Disbelieving

Magic moment: Jota's winner will stay in the memory for a long, long time

In a word: Euphoria

Picture perfect: