For six decades Wolves’ last European Cup game has remained a quarter-final defeat to Barcelona. That threatened to change when Nuno Espírito Santo’s side had the only 100% record in June but, after dropping six points in five days, the Europa League will probably beckon again.
Sheffield United inflicted a second successive defeat on Wolves as they missed the chance to go level on points with Manchester United.
As against Arsenal on Saturday, a sterile second half cost them. As on Sunday, John Egan scored. He had waited all season for a Premier League goal. After a thumping volley at Burnley came a similarly emphatic header from Oliver Norwood’s injury-time corner.
“He owes me eight still, so he knows that,” said Chris Wilder, who claims the centre-back ought to have 10 goals by now. His side, though, are seventh, above Arsenal and Tottenham.
“We shouldn’t be anywhere near the position we are in,” Wilder said. “We haven’t got the strength and power other clubs have but we have plenty of heart and bottle.”
It has brought a resounding response to their tough June. United were short of players but not of spirit and Wilder said: “The drive and desire in the second half was amazing.” A forceful finish almost brought goals for George Baldock and Ben Osborn before, after Rui Patrício clawed the latter’s shot away, the resulting corner brought the belated breakthrough.
“Small margins,” rued Nuno. “It could go both ways.” But it amounted to a painful match for Wolves, in more way than one. It began with Adama Traoré dislocating his shoulder yet again, in a collision with Enda Stevens. The winger laboured on but, with the injured Pedro Neto missing, Wolves had no gamechanger on the bench and Nuno eventually replaced Traoré with the more defensive Leander Dendoncker. When his peers are introducing potent fourth and fifth substitutes, a lack of strength in depth may prove decisive for Wolves.
“We had good movement and good chances,” Nuno said. But, for the second successive game, Wolves mustered a solitary shot on target. If many a summer match has had a slow start, they were themes of Wolves’ season long before Project Restart. The last of their 12 first-half goals came four months ago. They were inches from a 13th, however, with Rúben Neves’s free-kick beating Dean Henderson and clipping the top of the bar.
It was a rare moment of quality from them. United allied grit with a plan. If others double up on Traoré, their determination was summed up by the sight of Osborn, Stevens and Jack O’Connell tripling up on the winger. Stevens became the 34th player this season to be cautioned for fouling Traoré in a desperate attempt to halt a counterattack.
“We wrapped up some really good players,” Wilder said. They threatened, too, with Patrício required to deny Oli McBurnie and Billy Sharp before Egan turned match-winner.
“He has played against Alexandre Lacazette, Harry Kane, Jay Rodriguez and now [Raúl] Jiménez in the last week and has come back to his best,” Wilder said. So have United.
