WOLVES SHOW A NO-NO FOR NUNO
Manager unhappy despite Boly’s late winner
ALAST- MINUTE goal, two wins on the spin and their Europa League campaign back on track, but still Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo struggled to raise a smile.
Willy Boly’s stoppage-time strike gave Wolves a victory they barely deserved, with one of the toughest tests possible — away at Manchester City — awaiting on Sunday.
‘We have a lot to improve,’ said Nuno. ‘We won but the performance must be much better. Why did some of the players not perform so well? We must find out why, this is my obsession.’
Wolves looked half asleep for much of the game, following Nuno’s decision to delay their arrival in Istanbul to avoid ‘jet lag’, until Boly collected Ruben Neves’ lofted pass and guided it past Loris Karius. Seconds earlier, Romain Saiss had a goal disallowed for offside. Wolves were lucky, especially whenn Adem Ljajic’s corner deflecteded off Conor Coady on to the near post just before the break.ak. Against a better, more confident nd side, they would have been well-beaten.
After their home defeat by Braga in the opening round of matches, it was reasonable to expect Wolves to fly out of the blocks here, especially as Nuno picked a strongg team including key menn like Boly, Joao Moutinhonho and Raul Jimenez. Against a Besiktas side inturdomestic
turmoil — 16th in their domestic league — Wolves should have gone for the throat, but instead they were timid and ponderous, stringing together sideways passes.
Karius, meanwhile, has struggled to rebuild his career since his two mistakes cost Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final against Real Madrid.
For most of the game, the on-loan German keeper had the easiest night imaginable. Surely it was worth testing him with an early shot from long range?
Instead, Wolves sought to contain and counter, with the home side containing a sprinkling of players who failed to shine in England: Karius, on-loan Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny, and ex-Sunderland forward Jeremain Lens. In central defence, there was the familiar ponytailed figure of Domagoj Vida, part of the Croatia side who broke England hearts in last year’s World Cup semi-final.
During the opening half-hour, the action in the stands was far more lively than on the pitch. This new ground — which hosted August’s Super Cup between Chelsea and Liverpool — was about two-thirds full, but the Besiktas supporters ensured it was far noisier than the majority of Premier League full houses.
The Wolves contingent, which the club said numbered just under 1,000, played their part, determined to enjoy a first European campaign since 1980-81. Both sides began with the handbrake on but Besiktas became bolder. Around the half-hour mark, both Ljajic and Caner Erkin should have done better than fire over from promising positions.
Wolves lacked punch and had started to wobble, with their left-hand side vulnerable. Jimenez tried to clear a corner at the near post but sliced his clearance against the upright. Boly did well to block Erkin’s follow-up.
Moments later, substitute Umut Nayir — on for the injured Guven Yalcin — could not convert from close range. Wolves welcomed the half-time whistle and after the break, Nuno sent on Adama Traore for Pedro Neto.
Traore’s energy, if nothing else, made Wolves look a little brighter, but still they gave Karius an easy ride. Their first attempt on goal, after 55 minutes, did not trouble him, as Jimenez headed Moutinho’s free-kick over the top.
Nuno replaced the disappointing Morgan Gibbs- White with Leander Dendoncker and switched from 3- 4- 3 to 3- 5- 2 but still Besiktas looked more dangerous. And Vida should have done better than head Ljajic’s free-kick wide from six yards.
The introduction of Patrick Cutrone for Jimenez gave Wolves a spark. He shot just wide before Boly’s late, decisive intervention.
BESIKTAS (4-3-3): Karius 5; Douglas 7, Vida 6, Necip Uysal 6, Rebocho 6; Dorukhan Tokoz 7 (Ozyakup 79min), Elneny 6, Ljajic 7; Lens 7 (Gonul 84), Guven Yalcin 5 (Umut Nayir 27, 5), Caner Erkin 6. Subs not used: Yuvakuran, Roco, Hutchinson, Boyd. Booked: Tokoz, Ozyakup. Manager: Abdullah Avci 6. WOLVES (3-4-3): Rui Patricio 6; BOLY 8, Coady 7, Saiss 6; Doherty 5, Neves 5, Moutinho 6, Jonny 5; Gibbs-White 4 (Dendoncker 62, 7), Jimenez 6 (Cutrone 79), Pedro Neto 5 (Traore 46, 7). Subs not used: Ruddy, Bennett, Vallejo, Vinagre. Scorer: Boly 90+3. Booked: Jonny. Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo 7. Referee: Harald Lechner 6. Attendance: 22,670.