Wolves will be in for a long season, but that is not only based on this result. A four goal beating at home should not detract from the determination of the players whose "spirit" pleased Vitor Pereira.
‘We showed a good spirit’
Pereira held up his hands to recognise the quality in the ranks of the opposition on the afternoon.
“We tried to do our best to get a good result, but it was not possible because we faced a strong team.”
The difference between the two teams was the ruthlessness of the guests when they had openings.
“We did good things, in my opinion. We play with bravery and we tried to score goals. We had our chances to score, but each time that we committed a mistake, they punished us with a goal. Every time they committed mistakes, and we had a chance to score, we missed the goal: that was the difference.”
The 57-year-old was happy with the commitment to challenging the control of the Citizens.
“We showed a good spirit and ambition to score, ambition to defend and press them, force them, push them. In the end, the result is the result for us, but for us keep good things, improve the bad things.”
Goals change games, and the hosts had the ball in the back of the net, but Marshall Munetsi strayed offside before he planted a header past James Trafford. The margins were tight despite the scoreline.
“We scored first, and it was offside. If you score first, then it is different. We conceded the first goal, when something in the middle was missing, and they have the quality to create this kind of chance.”
Then, Tijjani Reijnders ran the show. He slalomed through the midfield and set away Rico Lewis with a dinked pass to assist Erling Haaland at the far post before he scored himself on a counter.
“The second goal we offered. Building the play in the middle was not the plan, but I understand everybody can commit mistakes, and the way is to correct. Second half, we started with a big chance for 2-1. After, counter attack, another goal, the third goal, and each mistake they punish us.”
‘They have players to find the solutions’
**Wolves**are adapting to life without two stars. Rayan Ait-Nouri is the new left back for City, and Matheus Cunha, their top scorer and a talismanic figure, has gone to Manchester United. The group have to gain even more unity to make up for the loss of those players and made a good first step.
“The spirit that I want is this spirit. We tried to be on the pitch with ambition, trying to score. We created some good chance to score. We did some good movements. Defending, sometimes at a good level. I will take the good things with me, and we'll correct the things that we need to correct.”
They were willing to fight for the possibility of a point after the restart. The risks that they took paved the path for Reijnders to blow open the hosts’ midfield for a third goal before Rayan Cherki carved the way to a fourth strike. However, Pereira praised his players for persevering throughout the battle.
“The subs went in with the spirit that I like to see. We were losing the game, so it's natural they want to go there to help and to press more, but against this kind of team, if you open the space in between the lines, or you stay man to man, they have players to find the solutions and to create problems”
There were fears for the squad after a preseason with four losses, two draws, and no victories. There are still no points on the board, but the boss believes that the team can build before their next fixture.
“This is not the result that I want, but losing 1-0, I'm not a manager to say to my team that we wait for them. We need to believe that risking a little bit we can score, and we had chances. We have three or four chance to score, but we didn't and in the end they scored more two goals. But this is football.”
He has refrained from using Jhon Arias, explaining why the newcomer must wait for his moment.
“Jhon is a player with a lot of quality. He's coming from Brazil, a different league. He needs a little bit of time to understand what we want, but he's a player that has the quality.”