Rodrigo Gomes beats Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward to the ball to score Wolves’ second goal.Photograph: Jack Thomas/WWFC/Wolves/Getty Images
It took less than 45 minutes of his Wolves tenure for the supporters to sing Vítor Pereira’s 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 in charge 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 Ipswich staff and Gary O’Neil paid for only securing nine points from 16 games with his job but that was forgotten at the King Power Stadium.
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There was greater cohesion for Wolves at Leicester but they were aided by a confused and brittle defence. The goals from Gonçalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Cunha were all avoidable. 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’s been Pereira’s dream to manage in the Premier League, coming close on a number of occasions over the past 15 years but he’s been required to hope between 13 clubs and seven countries before landing in Wolverhampton. His first team selection indicated one of the reasons he was appointed; there were eight native Portuguese speakers in his first Wolves starting XI.
O’Neil failed to address defensive woes; Wolves had shipped 40 in 16 games but Leicester have only conceded three fewer now. Matt Doherty, making his 300th league appearance for the club, formed part of a centre-back trio and helped José Sá have a rare quiet day. Wolves were learning on the job under Pereira’s guidance but were composed and confident from the outset.
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 Danny Ward, whose slowness in getting down to the shot showed why this was his first league start since March 2023.
Van Nistelrooy collected four points in his opening two games but a 4-0 defeat at Newcastle and constant mistakes against Wolves 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.
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When Ward replaced the injured Mads Hermansen at half- time against Newcastle last week, he conceded three within 15 minutes. The defence were nervous without their first choice once again, causing untold problems, resulting in the fans sarcastically cheering whenever Ward succeeded in completing the simplest of tasks.
The game was a reminder of how quickly things can change in football and there is plenty of time left in the relegation rollercoaster that Leicester and Wolves find themselves on.