The dozens of poncho-clad Wolves supporters that stuck around until the final whistle in the sodden Graham Hughes stand, a corner of this stadium exposed to the elements, was an image indicative of the wider mood at Molineux on a grim afternoon. For Vítor Pereira’s side, a fifth straight league defeat, this one against Leeds, for whom Noah Okafor, Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin registered their first goals, the latter scoring for the only second time in 12 months.
Wolves, jeered off at half-time and full time, remain pointless and prop up the table after an inauspicious start. Of the five other teams to lose their opening five Premier League matches, three finished bottom, the anomaly in that pack the Crystal Palace side Roy Hodgson rescued in 2017-18 after a disastrous start under Frank de Boer, who was sacked just 77 days into the job.
There was little to cheer from a Wolves perspective after Ladislav Krejci’s eighth-minute opener and a din of discontent rained down from the stands, with supporters chanting against owner, Fosun Group, and the chair, Jeff Shi. “You sold the team, now sell the club,” bellowed the South Bank, alluding to another summer of high-profile departures, this time Matheus Cunha and Rayan Aït-Nouri.
Wolves are stuck in a cycle where the weight of games increases week on week, with a trip to Tottenham up next in the league after a Carabao Cup third-round tie at home to Everton. “It is a difficult time for us,” conceded Pereira, the Wolves head coach. “The only way to improve is to work. Mentally, we need a result to give us the confidence to not commit easy mistakes. Sometimes a result can change everything. I’m very, very frustrated and I understand the fans’ feelings. But this is a time we need to be together and help our players. We need to live with the pressure.”
Wolves played all their cards this week, announcing new contracts for both Pereira, a popular figure after staving off relegation last season, and their main striker Jørgen Strand Larsen in the 48 hours that preceded the game. Strand Larsen had not featured this month owing to an achilles issue but Pereira felt compelled to introduce him at the interval, the Norway forward joining Tolu Arokodare, £24m deadline-day signing, in attack as part of a triple substitution.
Leeds recorded the first attack of note, Gabriel Gudmundsson’s ball across the six-yard box unmet after a neat one-two with Stach, but Wolves earned the lead when Krejci capped an incisive three-pass move involving four summer signings. Jackson Tchatchoua punched a pass into the feet of Arokodare, whose smart layoff allowed Fer López to play a first-time pass towards the penalty spot where Krejci, who eluded Sean Longstaff, arrived to finish. For Wolves, that was where the promise ended.
Pereira will ponder how his team imploded in the final 15 minutes of the first half. Calvert-Lewin sent a looping header into the top-right corner after leaping above Yerson Mosquera to meet Jayden Bogle’s deflected cross and then Krejci, this his home debut, barged into Calvert-Lewin 20 yards from goal, presenting Leeds with an inviting free-kick; Stach assumed duty and used Jean Ricner-Bellegarde, furthest left of the Wolves wall, as a mannequin and dispatched an unstoppable effort past José Sá and into the opposite corner.
João Gomes saw an effort blocked after an intricate move and Arokodare flicked a hopeful effort towards goal but, on the verge of half-time, Leeds added a third. Stach intercepted a poor pass by Emmanuel Agbadou and spied Okafor to his left who did the rest, drilling low across the Wolves goal and under the diving Sá. It was not the first time Agbadou has made a mistake leading to a goal this season but Pereira said dropping him would kill the defender’s confidence.
Asked whether Leeds’s first away win and first league goals since an opening-day win over Everton provided a much-needed boost, their head coach, Daniel Farke, replied with a smile: “The narrative around this club changes each and every week. So with seven points, probably everyone will speak about Europe … football is about emotions and everyone can get overexcited or overemotional.”
Jhon Arias and André also entered from the bench but to little effect and the game edged away from the hosts. After the game Pereira candidly admitted he is still trying to establish his best starting lineup. Even the notification of four minutes of second-half stoppage time was received with a communal groan. For Wolves, another dispiriting afternoon.
