Wolverhampton Wanderers faced off against Southampton at the St. Mary’s Stadium earlier today as they looked to earn all three points on the road. Both sides fought tooth and nail in the first 45 minutes but struggled to make the decisive breakthrough as they went into the half-time break with a goalless scoreline.
Raul Jimenez finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute when he found the back of the net with a good strike to put Wolves in a strong position to win the game. The West Midlands club defended their lead well and managed to secure an impressive 1-0 win at the south coast of England.
Let’s take a look at how each Wolves player performed during the clash against the Saints.
GK: Jose Sa – 8.5/10
The Portuguese keeper probably had his best game in a Wolves shirt today. He made a handful of important saves to keep his clean sheet intact and even set up Jimenez’s match-winning strike with an excellent pass.
CB: Max Kilman – 7/10
Kilman was a strong presence in the air and did well to clear the danger when called into action on the defensive end of the field.
CB: Conor Coady – 6.5/10
He made a few crucial clearances during the game and performed well enough to bag a clean sheet on the road.
CB: Romain Saiss – 7/10
Saiss was a dominant figure inside the Wolves penalty box and even managed to block a couple of shot attempts from the opposition.
RM: Nelson Semedo – 7/10
The Portuguese sensation performed his defensive duties well but lacked invention in the Southampton half.
CM: Joao Moutinho – 7/10
The veteran midfielder used his experience well to protect his backline but couldn’t create anything of note going forward.
CM: Leander Dendoncker – 6.5/10
Dendoncker offered some bite and steel to Bruno Lage’s midfield but failed to influence the game in the final third.
LM: Marcal – 6.5/10
The Brazilian had to do a lot of defending and mostly stood up to the test quite well. However, he struggled to make an impact in the Saints half.
RW: Daniel Podence – 6.5/10
Podence made some good runs with the ball but never got a sniff at goal. He got replaced in the 70th minute.
ST: Raul Jimenez – 8/10
The Mexican striker was Lage’s best hope for a goal. He finally managed to get his name on the scoresheet in the 61st minute which was enough to give Wolves a narrow 1-0 win today.
LW: Hwang Hee-chan – 6/10
He hardly got into the flow of the game and was substituted in the 87th minute.
Substitutes:
RW: Adama Traore – 6/10
Traore offered very little after coming off the bench.
CM: Ruben Neves – N/A
He did not get enough minutes to warrant a rating.
CB: Ki-Jana Hoever – N/A
He came on to run the clock down for Wolves.
