Wolverhampton Wanderers locked horns with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane earlier today hoping to kick off their Premier League campaign by securing all three points on the road. The West Midlands side made a dream start to the game when Raul Jimenez opened the goal-scoring in the 3rd minute. Romain Saiss doubled the away team’s advantage just three minutes later with his powerful header from close range. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men defended well and went into the half-time break two goals to the good.
The Blades tried their best to come up with a response in the second 45 minutes but struggled to find the cutting edge in the final third. Wolves ended up winning the contest by a convincing 2-0 scoreline after the full-time whistle.
Let’s take a look at how each Wolves player fared during the contest versus the Blades.
GK: Rui Patricio – 7/10
The Portuguese keeper made a couple of decent saves in the first half but was mostly untroubled by the Sheffield attackers in the second.
CB: Willy Boly – 7/10
He kept a good defensive shape at the back and enjoyed the aerial battle with Oli McBurnie. Boly deserves credit for coming away from South Yorkshire with the clean sheet intact.
CB: Conor Coady – 7.5/10
The Liverpool-born talent was quite vocal when organising his defence and read the game well to restrict the opposition from scoring throughout the 90 minutes.
CB: Romain Saiss – 8.5/10
Saiss rose above everyone to score the all-important second goal with a towering header in the sixth minute. He defended valiantly throughout the remainder of the contest and even made a goal-line clearance in the second half.
LM: Marcal – 6.5/10
He whipped in an inviting cross midway through the first half. Marcal was bright and energetic throughout the game but got booked in stoppage time.
CM: Joao Moutinho – 7/10
The Portuguese midfield ace worked hard for his side and played an instrumental role in the lead-up to Jimenez’s opening goal.
CM: Leander Dendoncker – 7.5/10
The Belgian talent ran the show at the centre of the park and did well to cover a lot of ground which helped restrict the opposition’s chances of scoring.
RM: Adama Traore – 8/10
The former Barcelona speedster was a constant threat for the Blades defenders as he made some brilliant breakaway runs in the attacking third. However, he will be disappointed not to have scored today.
CAM: Daniel Podence – 8/10
Podence produced another impressive performance in the decisive end of the pitch and got a great assist to show for his efforts after he set-up Jimenez’s goal with a wonderful cross early in the game.
ST: Pedro Neto – 7/10
Neto made some tireless runs with the ball but struggled to find the finishing touch inside the opponent’s penalty box.
ST: Raul Jimenez – 8/10
The Mexican striker scored with a neat finish in the third minute which gave his teammates the ideal platform to go on and snatch the win.
Substitutes:
RM: Oskar Buur – 6/10
He did enough to see out the win without letting the opposition score.
CM: Ruben Neves – 6/10
The Portuguese youngster kept the ball moving in midfield.
CAM: Vitinha – N/A
Not enough time to warrant a rating.
