It took less than 45 minutes of Vítor Pereira’s Wolves tenure for the supporters to sing his name as he witnessed his new side thrash Leicester. The Portuguese will, however, want to take note of his opposite number, Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has gone from triumph in his first game to being booed off in fewer than three weeks.
The atmosphere at Wolves has been dark in recent weeks. Mario Lemina lost the captaincy after an altercation with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen, Matheus Cunha was charged by the Football Association for taking out his anger last weekend on spectacles belonging to a member of the Ipswich staff and Gary O’Neil paid with his job for securing only nine points from 16 games, but that was forgotten here.
There was greater cohesion for Wolves but they were aided by a confused and brittle defence. First-half goals from Gonçalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Cunha were avoidable but the backup goalkeeper Danny Ward, on his first league start since March 2023, was the focus of the home fans’ ire, receiving sarcastic cheers when he successfully completed the simplest of tasks, which will hurt his pride.
The Leicester owner, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, threw soft fox toys and scarves out to fans before kick-off but his defence were even more generous, removing plenty of the festive spirit from those in blue.
It has been Pereira’s dream to manage in the Premier League. He has come close on a number of occasions over the past 15 years but has been required to hop between 12 clubs and seven countries before landing in Wolverhampton. His first selection indicated one of the reasons he was appointed: there were eight native Portuguese speakers in his XI.
O’Neil failed to address defensive woes; Wolves had shipped 40 in 16 games but Leicester have conceded only three fewer now. Matt Doherty, making his 300th league appearance for the visitors, formed part of a centre‑back trio and helped José Sá to have a rare quiet day. Wolves were learning on the job under Pereira’s guidance but were composed and confident from the outset. “It is very important [to get a clean sheet] because we need to get confidence again, we need to get confidence in the way we defend and try to improve game by game and in training,” Pereira said.
Leicester took on the mantle of most inept defence from their opponents by conceding the meekest of openers. Nélson Semedo chipped a pass into the box but Jannik Vestergaard failed to deal with it, almost ducking underneath, allowing Guedes to hold off Conor Coady and direct the ball under Ward who was too slow to react.
Van Nistelrooy collected four points in his opening two games but a 4-0 defeat at Newcastle and constant mistakes here have given a more realistic picture of Leicester’s peril.
James Justin was the next Foxes defender to make a dreadful decision when he let a Doherty pass go into the box where Gomes was surprised to receive it, allowing him to bundle it into the net for his first goal for the club.
Wolves are used to hearing boos but it was the opposition fans with the jeers for once as they moved two points behind Leicester, who sit a place above the drop zone. Cunha added the third amid more weak defending and unconvincing goalkeeping as the ball went between Ward’s hands to instigate the Pereira chants. “A fantastic feeling,” the manager said of hearing his name. “I asked the players before the game that at the end of the game we need to be proud of what we did on the pitch, and we need to make our fans proud. We cannot win alone, we need them to help us.”
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When Ward replaced the injured Mads Hermansen against Newcastle last week, he conceded three within 15 minutes. The defence were nervous without their first choice once again, but they were equally culpable for the problems at the back, carrying out a brief postmortem with hands on hips after each goal.
Van Nistelrooy said of Ward’s treatment: “We all understand disappointment from the crowd, but it should not all go to one player. Booing or being disappointed with the result, I think it’s a right of a supporter, of a fan, to show your emotions, and we all do that, but when it really goes to one person that is something that is hard to see for me personally. I think he kept his composure very well; it is not easy when something happens like that. I think he handled it very well. It must be difficult for him. Hopefully he can turn things around quickly.”
The game was a reminder of how quickly things can change in football; there is plenty of time left in the relegation rollercoaster on which both these teams find themselves.
