Wolves fell to a 4-2 defeat against Bournemouth on Saturday – but one small positive was that Jorgen Strand Larsen scored a brace.
Gary O’Neil is back under big pressure after overseeing one of Wolves’ worst defensive performances of the season at Molineux.
He decided to stick with the same starting XI as last weekend against Fulham – but this time it just didn’t work.
That said, there can be a small degree of sympathy for the Wolves manager, with players making ridiculous errors. Toti Gomes, Craig Dawson and especially Jose Sa all made mistakes yesterday.
And those mistakes meant that the efforts of Strand Larsen went to waste.
But one statistic does highlight how well he’s been doing recently.
Strand Larsen has most non-penalty PL goals since start of October, but there’s an issue
Jorgen Strand Larsen of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks dejected during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and AFC Bournemou...
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Matheus Cunha has been making most of the headlines for Wolves this season.
The Brazilian has been the standout player for Wanderers, and there’s been plenty of talk about him regarding a potential move away from the club in the coming windows.
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But Strand Larsen is quietly having an excellent debut campaign for Wolves.
Following his brace against Bournemouth, he now has six goals and three assists in the Premier League.
As per Stat Muse, no other Premier League player has managed more non-penalty goals than him in the league since the start of October (5).
His other goal before that came in the 6-2 defeat against Chelsea back in August.
He’s actually now just one behind Cunha, having probably not even had half as much attention from fans and the media.
There is an argument here to say Wolves are really failing their number nine. Because Wolves have not actually won any of the games in which Strand Larsen has scored this season, suggesting his contributions are going to waste.
Strand Larsen has been a top signing for Wolves
Wolves’ recruitment in the summer is starting to look quite questionable.
A number of players signed have not yet proven themselves in an old gold shirt, but Strand Larsen can definitely hold his head high for his efforts so far this season following his loan move from Celta Vigo, which is expected to be made permanent for £25 million.
He’s now just one goal contribution behind Cunha, which is fantastic considering the Brazilian is often the best player on the pitch for Wolves.
Jorgen Strand Larsen for Wolves so far
Appearances – 14
Minutes played – 1090
Goals – 6
Assists – 3
Five non-penalty goals since the start of October is pretty impressive, and this is despite him actually lacking service at times.
We’ve seen what a threat he can be in the penalty area, and Wolves need to start getting the ball into the box more. The way he took his header from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s cross was superb, and probably not since Raul Jimenez have Wolves had a target man this good up top.
Frankly, the backline just needs to improve so that there’s a chance Strand Larsen’s goals can actually earn the team points.
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