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WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 1-1 NEWCASTLE UNITED
- Goals: Raúl Jiménez (£ 8.5m) | Jacob Murphy (£ 4.9 million)
- Attend: None | Callum Wilson (£ 6.5 million)
- Cousin: Jiménez 3, Murphy x2, Romain Saiss (£ 5.2 million) x 1
Newcastle United repeated its Gameweek 3 trick of fighting a barely deserved point from the clutches of a miserable defeat at Molineux on Sunday.
Jacob murphyThe late free kick (£ 4.9m) brought Steve Bruce’s side to the level ten minutes later Raul jimenez (£ 8.5m) appeared to have given Wolverhampton Wanderers all three points with their fourth goal of the campaign.
While not a ghost team, the Magpies have proven to be a tough nut to crack for the Wolves since their promotion to the top flight – this was the fourth straight league meeting between the two teams to finish 1-1.
HAMMERED ATTACK
The supposed fixture change for the Wolves in Gameweek 3 has not led to an excess of goals, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s team scoring only three times in the last four games, despite facing players like Fulham and Newcastle in that time.
After a promising start Sunday, the game became a bit of an event and underscored an ongoing problem with the Wolves’ attack, particularly against the division’s fellow rans.
Twelve of the Lobos’ 16 shots against Newcastle, including Jiménez’s goal, came from outside the area, and the hosts didn’t really create a single gold-edged opportunity in the entire match.
Asked if other players exclude his Mexican forward, he should share the workload on the scoring front, Santo said:
Yes of course. We want all the players to score the goals, of course. I want all the players to score 30 goals if possible. That’s what I’m trying to work on, trying to improve.
We had a lot of shots, not all of them on target. Let’s try to improve the final delivery and the clinical moment of the shot on goal, making the goalkeeper work. We did not test the goalkeeper too many times, nor did we try many shots on goal.
Perhaps Gameweek 3’s win at West Ham was a turning point.
Since then, Santo has proceeded with caution in tactics and personnel: Adama Traore (£ 6.4m) hasn’t started a single game, the defensive-minded one Leander dendoncker (£ 4.9m) has started all three in central midfield and central half Romain saiss (£ 5.2 million), certainly out of necessity at first, has been deployed at the rear.
Wolves have rarely beaten teams since their return to the top flight, and despite their earlier-season words about wanting more goals and giving their players “more freedom”, it could be that defeat at London Stadium. it was a reminder to the Saint that his success thus far has been based on solidity further back.
The lost of Diogo Jota (£ 6.3 million) and Matt doherty (£ 5.8m) has also deprived the Wolves of two scoring sources, with their impressive replacements, but so far they don’t offer the same threat in front of goal.
RISK OF IAL POWER ROTATION
Those Fantasy managers who moved around Daniel Podence (£ 5.5m) ahead of the aforementioned fixture swing, they’ve seen little for their investment, with the low-budget midfielder on target again on Sunday.
The Wolves winger started the game very promisingly, changing his arm from distance twice in the first 10 minutes and forcing Karl Darlow (£ 5.0 million) in one of the two saves he had to get everything right.
A beautiful interaction between the host’s three forwards led to another Podence shot blocked just after halftime, with the Portugal international placing Jiménez and Pedro Neto (£ 5.0 million) for your own opportunities.
It all came to nothing, though, as he was hooked shortly after the hour mark for the third game in a row and the clamor for Traore’s return may grow louder, with Podence potentially at greater risk.
This is because the equally impressive Neto has been an ever-present starter this season and it is perhaps significant that it was Podence who was hooked first in each of the last three Gameweeks, with Traore taking his place on two of those occasions.
SITTING IN DEFENSE
The Wolves were already on top of a clean sheet heading into Sunday’s game, but would have had an absolute advantage if Murphy’s free kick hadn’t found its way past a poorly formed wall and an equally guilty Rui Patricio (£ 5.5 million) in the final minutes.
The visitors had created almost nothing before that, with their total of five goal attempts, the lowest of any team in Gameweek 6 so far.
Santo said of his team’s defensive display:
We were solid and we didn’t allow opportunities for Newcastle, we were solid in that part. But of course we are upset.
We had the whole game under control, handling it well. It was a good goal, but it was disappointing to make a mistake in the final moments of the match. The ball cannot go to that side of the wall. The configuration was not correct.
There is little concern about the Wolves’ bottom line competition (they have racked up 12 clean sheets in their last 20 league games) but there may be some uncertainty about the personnel within it.
Conor Coady (£ 5.0 million) and Willy boly (£ 5.5 million) are nailed to the back and Nelson Semedo (£ 5.5m) seems pretty safe today, but the left side of the defense is harder to call.
Saiss cheekily racked up a clean sheet and a bonus point thanks to his retirement in the 68th minute with the score at 0-0, and that loot catapulted him back to the top of the FPL points table among defenders. of Fantasy.
However, the substitution itself could be a matter of concern in the medium term, as Saiss understandably offers little attack threat from the left-back and is replaced by a more natural fit in the form of Mark (£ 4.9 million).
The wingers have been crucial to the Wolves’ set-up under Santo and if Marcal is retired this Friday, which is by no means a fact, then it could be Saiss and Max kilman (£ 4.1 million) competing for that third place in the middle alongside Coady and Boly.
The decision would have been easier to make had it not been for Kilman’s recent demonstrations as the former futsal star again put in a solid showing on Sunday and denied Callum wilson (£ 6.5 million) with a good challenge early on.
RETURN RAFA
With Newcastle short of numbers in the middle of the park, a medium fit Isaac hayden (£ 4.9m) just in the bank and Jonjo shelvey (£ 5.4m) will now be out of the game for a long period after groin surgery – Steve Bruce resorted to his predecessor’s tactics for this match.
The resulting display was, not for the first time this season, predictably short on attack threat, with Allan Saint-Maximin (£ 5.3 million) trimming a frustrated figure despite being given a free role and ultimately retiring.
However, it led to a more solid defensive display following the 4-1 loss to Manchester United, with Wolves comfortably held at bay for the most part and Jimenez only breaking the deadlock from a distance.
It remains to be seen if the Magpies came forward again with a defense-first approach to stop Everton at Gameweek 7, with Bruce explaining after the game that he wants his team to be “tough to beat” while also evolving from the era of Rafael Benitez. :
We didn’t have natural midfielders who wanted to get the ball back today. We have to defend better than we have lately, we have to be hard to beat.
We are trying to find a balance for the team, it won’t happen overnight, but we are trying to change the way we play.
Wolverhampton Wanderers XI: Patricio, Kilman, Coady, Boly, Saiss (Marcal de Oliveira 68 ′), Neves (Moutinho 83 ′), Dendoncker, Semedo, Neto, Podence (Traore 68 ′), Jiménez.
Newcastle United XI: Darlow, Murphy, Lewis, Fernández, Lascelles (Carroll 88 ′), Schar, Almiron, Hendrick, Fraser (Joelinton 78 ′), Saint-Maximin (S Longstaff 78 ′), Wilson.
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LESSONS LEARNED FROM FPL GAMEWEEK 6
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