Express & Star

Blog: Wolves are Hell on Ole’s wheel

There really is no end to this magical season.

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Wolves have provided more memorable occasions under Nuno than you’d think possible.

They head to Wembley this weekend with the chance to take the magic even further.

But first, a look back at the ups and downs of last week.

The week started very poorly - that loss to Burnley seemed inevitable. Wolves have struggled after international breaks this season, and against teams near the bottom. When both of these scenarios combine, it was only going to end one way.

Nuno was forced to rest talisman Raul Jimenez after a long-distance international trip, meaning Wolves had no focal point up front. Adama Traore, playing at wing-back, had a great game but his crosses were never going to reach a Wolves player with the lofty Ben Mee and James Tarkowski proving imperious.

Wolves’ concentration was lacking in the early stages of the game, conceding in the second minute. But under Nuno, every time Wolves have been poor, they have learned their lesson and come back stronger - hopefully this will be the case again.

Onto Tuesday’s return of Man United to Molineux. This game felt a bit inconvenient, in the way of the fanfare ahead of the semi-final. United looked much more up for the game than Wolves early on, determined to right the wrong of the last fixture, and when they scored it looked like it would go their way.

It’s rare to see a team change their fortunes within a half as much as Wolves did. They suddenly clicked and took the game to their opponents. The sensational Joao Moutinho harried Fred and won the ball, before a quick move saw Jimenez combine with Diogo Jota for a composed equaliser.

Using a pair of forwards went out of fashion in football a while back, but this duo are telepathic and on absolutely lethal form - they are among the sharpest forwards in the league.

United again couldn’t handle Jota, and Ashley Young got his marching orders for two nasty fouls - this is the second time that United had a red card for a tackle on Jota, but they had no reprieve this time.

To be able to give it the ‘Olé’ in two consecutive games against Man United is utterly fantastic and humiliating for them - the last Ole’s their fans want to hear about!

The calamitous own goal was richly deserved by Wolves, who played extremely well after falling behind. Rui Patricio did his job very well, with the reaction save with his palm being a vital moment in the match.

A mini league table came out on Twitter this week showing the results among the top 7 in the league - Wolves are incredibly third.

This week, Wolves moved into the future - contactless payments, lager that fills from the bottom of the cup at Molineux and a new club record deal for Raul.

Sunday offers a chance for this team to write itself permanently into the club’s folklore.