Wolves 4 Besiktas 0 - Report and pictures

It looked a game destined for mediocrity until Jota entered the fray in the 57th minute and turned the game on its head.

By the 68th minute Wolves had netted four times, Leander Dendoncker joining Jota on that scoresheet.

But despite the Portuguese forward’s heroics Wolves had to settle for second spot in Group K as Braga fought back to beat Slovan Bratislava 4-2 and retain their grip at the top of the table.

It might not have had any say on Wolves’ position in the table but Jota’s 11-minute hat-trick was a message to the rest of Europe, that whoever they draw on Monday will face a team with that electric firepower.

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo made seven changes from the side that drew 2-2 at Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday for this clash.

With passage to the final 32 of the competition already secured Rui Patricio, Adama Traore, Romain Saiss, Matt Doherty and Jonny Castro-Otto were given the night off.

Top scorer Raul Jimenez also faced an enforced rest due to suspension as Brighton hero Jota moved to the bench – though he was not content with a quiet night under the lights, as he turned the game upside down in the second half.

But despite the mass of changes, the side maintained a strong core with skipper Conor Coady, Leander Dendoncker, Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho all keeping their shirts.

Though Dendoncker remained, he changed position, pushing up from defence to midfield to join Neves and Moutinho in a midfield three.

That was due to Nuno’s shift from 3-4-3 to 3-5-2 with Ryan Bennett and Max Kilman starting either side of Coady in a new-look back three.

Ruben Vinagre and development squad player Oskar Buur got the nod in the wing-back positions, with Patrick Cutrone starting alongside Pedro Neto in the front two.

John Ruddy took Patricio’s place in goal as young keeper Andreas Sondergaard joined his development squad team-mates Taylor Perry, Owen Otasowie, Luke Cundle and Lewis Richards on a youthful bench.

The team news was the most exciting part of the opening exchanges in what was a lacklustre first-half.

Wolves picked up their first points of the group stages at Besiktas in October thanks to a last-gasp Willy Boly goal.

That night it was all about a patient approach as Wolves turned up the heat in the second half, in what you could describe as a perfect European away day.

This night, was a different case completely, with both sides seemingly having not much to play for and Besiktas either unable or unwilling to ask serious questions of Nuno’s men throughout the 90.

Thus it was no surprise that the first half was a case of going through the motions as a heavily changed Besiktas side, with no chance of advancing, sat back and allowed Wolves to pass the ball around with ease.

But as soon as Wolves tried to find a spark in the final third the Turkish side acted swiftly to shut them down, with a shift to a front two dampening Wolves’ electric wide play of late.

There were flashes as Cutrone had the ball in the net in the 18th minute after Vinagre’s fancy footwork had teed him up.

But the Italian striker was ruled offside with Neves testing the palms of Utka Yuvakuran.

But the momentum shifted at half-time.

With Braga drawing with Slovan Bratislava the chance of topping the group became a feasible task.

And Wolves certainly came out with more attacking intent at the start of that second 45.

A Neto cross from the left looked to fall perfectly for Dendoncker in the box, but he misjudged his header.

Nuno had deployed his 3-5-2 formation once again with Neves, Moutinho and Dendoncker all refreshing their relationships in the middle of the park.

But it was as soon as Neves was withdrawn for Jota and Wolves shifted back to 3-4-3 that they showed their bite.

Jota had been moved to the bench after his two-goal heroics at the Amex on Sunday as Nuno attempted to rest him.

But he did not want the night off, and it was clear the Portuguese forward was a man on a mission as he entered the fray in the 56th minute.

He opened the scoring a minute later and made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute, en route to a quick-fire hat-trick.

Wolves had hit the woodwork twice in-between as Max Kilman diverted a Moutinho corner onto the right stick and Dendoncker rattled the opposite post.

But when Dendoncker’s thunderous effort flew back into play, Jota gobbled up the loose ball to increase Wolves’ lead.

But Dendoncker ensured he was on the scoresheet moments later as he powered home a Moutinho corner from the right.

It appeared that Besiktas had given up any hope of a result and Jota was not willing to show mercy.

He pounced on Buur’s right-wing cross to complete his hat-trick as Besiktas crumbled at Molineux.

Nuno threw youngsters Perry and Otasowie on for the closing stages of the game but this was a night all about Jota.

Key Moments

58 - GOOOOOALLLLLLLLL! Jota, with his first touch after coming off the bench, puts the hosts in front! Cutrone releases Neto with a fantastic flick. The Portuguese seems to be crowded out, but he breaks free with a lovely turn and crosses to Jota, who gratefully heads home.

63 - GOOOOOOOOAALLLLLLL!! Super-sub Jota grabs a second! Dendoncker sees a shot rattle off the woodwork for the second time in as many minutes but, fortunately, Jota is there on the follow-up to smash the ball in from point-blank range.

67 - GOOOOOOOOOAALLLLLLLLL!!! Dendoncker gets his goal! The Belgian rises high from a corner, and he sticks the header right into the top corner - Yuvakuran having no chance of making the save. Dendoncker is happy with that.

68 - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAALLLLLLLL!!!! Jota makes it a hat-trick, only 11 minutes after coming onto the pitch! Young right-wing-back Buur does well to beat his man and sends over an inviting cross, with Jota tapping the ball in at the far post. What an impact!

Teams

Wolves (3-5-2): Ruddy; Bennett, Coady (c), Kilman; Buur, Dendoncker (Otasowie, 72), Neves (Jota, 57), Moutinho (Perry, 70), Vinagre; Cutrone, Neto

Subs not used: Sondergaard (gk), Vallejo, Richards, Cundle

Goals: Jota (58, 64, 68), Dendoncker (67)

Besiktas (4-2-3-1): Yuvakuran; Kalafat (Roco, 76), Uysal, Kaya, Rebocho; Ozyakup, Secgin; Lens (Diaby, 81), Yalcin (Elneny, 64), Boyd; Nayir

Subs not used: Destanoglu (gk), Ozkan (gk), Isler, Yilmaz

Attendance: 27,866

Referee: Andris Treimanis (Latvia)