Wolverhampton Wanderers’ good momentum under new manager Vitor Pereira stalled on Monday night after a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest. It was a disappointing result for the Old Gold who had previously won two and drawn one under their new boss.
It was the worst possible start for the home side, with former star Morgan Gibbs-White giving Forest the lead. It is fair to say there is no love lost between the Molineux faithful and the Forest number 10, who was greeted with boos from the terraces. It was a poor goal to concede from Wolves, letting Gibbs-White gallop into acres of space in the leadup to his goal.
The Old Gold nearly had their equaliser on two occasions through Jorgen Strand Larsen. His first shot was cleared off the line after some great play by Hwang Hee-chan, and Mats Selz made a brilliant point-blank save to deny him again.
On the stroke of half-time, Forest scored again this time through the in-form Chris Wood. The New Zealand international found space in the penalty box and fired home a cross. Forest got their third late in second-half stoppage time, hitting Wolves on the counterattack with Taiwo Awoniyi scoring.
It was certainly a disappointing night for Pereira’s men, with some poor performances throughout the side.
Wolves’ worst performers vs. Forest
One of the most frustrating performers for the Old Gold on Monday night was the experienced Matt Doherty. The Irishman struggled to cope with the pace and power of Callum Hudson-Odoi, which led to Wood’s goal.
Indeed, that was noted by Birmingham World journalist Charlie Haffenden. The football correspondent gave Doherty a 4/10 rating, explaining that he ‘defended appallingl’” for Wood’s strike just before halftime.
Another player who struggled for Periera’s side was midfielder Tommy Doyle. Starting in place of Andre, the Manchester City academy graduate struggled to make much of an impact in the centre of the park on and off the ball.
That is something that is reflected in his stats on Sofascore at the end of the game. The 23-year-old had 38 touches of the ball but did not create a chance and lost possession six times. He also won just won out of two ground duels and did not win any of his duels in the air.
As disappointing as Doherty and Doyle were for the Old Gold on Monday, there was someone who was arguably even more disappointing. That player was Goncalo Guedes.
Guedes’ stats vs. Forest
It was a frustrating night for the Portugal international, but not for lack of effort. Guedes worked hard but to little avail, running tirelessly all night without any end product. However, he was perhaps to blame for Gibbs-White’s opener, with his poor header the reason Forest could regain possession in the first place.
His grim night at the office was certainly reflected in the stats at full-time. The 28-year-old, who was substituted after 75 minutes, had 42 touches of the ball and lost possession a disappointing 11 times, also failing to complete either of his two dribbles. Guedes also lost all seven of his attempted duels.
