Wolverhampton Wanderers entertained Olympiacos at the Molineux Stadium earlier this evening hoping to pick up a win and secure a place in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League. The home team made a bright start to the game and took the lead in the eighth minute via Raul Jimenez’s penalty. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men hung on to their narrow advantage and went into the half-time break one goal to the good.
The Greek giants pushed on in search of the equaliser in the second 45 minutes, but failed to break the Wolves defence down as the match finished 1-0 in favour of the West Midlands outfit. The Premier League side managed to win the European tie with a hard-fought 2-1 aggregate scoreline.
Let’s take a look at how each Wolves player fared during the contest versus Olympiacos.
GK: Rui Patricio – 8.5/10
The Portuguese goalie made a few excellent saves to restrict the Greek side from scoring during the 90 minutes. He has got a well-deserved clean sheet to show for his efforts.
CB: Willy Boly – 6.5/10
He did enough work defensively to see out the win with the clean sheet intact. Boly was a commanding presence at the back and came close to scoring at the other end.
CB: Conor Coady – 6.5/10
The Liverpool-born talent had a couple of nervy moments during the game, but did enough defensively to help his side win. He also played some neat diagonal passes from the back.
CB: Romain Saiss – 7/10
The Moroccan centre-back performed quite well when under pressure from his international teammate Youssef El-Arabi, who was left frustrated in the final third.
RWB: Matt Doherty – 6/10
He lost track of his marker a couple of times during the contest and struggled to make a meaningful contribution in the attacking third.
CM: Ruben Neves – 6.5/10
The Portuguese international was not afraid to unleash a couple of powerful attempts from long range. However, Neves was often outnumbered in midfield by the opposition.
CM: Joao Moutinho – 7/10
He used his experience well to see out the all-important victory in the second half despite suffering a nasty injury just before half-time.
LWB: Jonny Castro – 6/10
The Spanish wing-back had to come off with an injury early in the first half.
RW: Adama Traore – 5.5/10
It was a far from a convincing performance from Traore down the right flank. He didn’t track back the opposition’s runs and left Doherty exposed at the back. The talented speedster also failed to make anything of note in the final third.
ST: Raul Jimenez – 7.5/10
The Mexican striker worked his socks off while leading the charge for Wolves down the middle. He kept his calm to convert the penalty, which ended up making the difference this evening.
LW: Daniel Podence – 7/10
Podence carried most of his team’s creative burden in the opposition half. He did well to earn a penalty and was a constant menace for the Olympiacos defenders.
Substitutes:
LWB: Ruben Vinagre – 7/10
He had to come on early in the game and did well under pressure to help his side secure the win.
LW: Diogo Jota – 6/10
Jota struggled to find a telling touch inside the opposition box.
CM: Leander Dendoncker – 6/10
He came off the bench to see out the victory for his team.
