NUNO: BOURNEMOUTH ACE AT HIS BEST
WOLVES have blown a £50million budget in a bid to reach the Premier League — but Benik Afobe could prove their most valuable signing. The striker, who left Molineux for Bournemouth in a £10m move in January 2016, has returned on loan until the end of this season — and has now scored four goals in his last four appearances. Two against Burton kept Wolves six points clear at the top of the Championship, and increased the clamour for Afobe’s return to made permanent. But boss Nuno Espirito Santo refused to be drawn on whether the Congo star will figure in his long-term plans. Nuno (below) said: “Benik is getting to his best now — like the team. “Today it was him, before it was Diogo Jota, Helder Costa, Ivan Cavaleiro, Morgan Gibbs-White. “All these players are important. All the things we’re doing with them is focused on building a team. “I only think about the players who are going on the international break and the hard work I have to do here to keep this going — because we have to work the players who don’t go away with their national teams. “The result is not important — what is important is the ‘how’. “The ‘what’ and the ‘when’ will come naturally, but the ‘how’ is important — it’s about how we play.” The gap between Wolves and Burton could not just be measured in the distance between them in the table, but also in their spending power.
The Brewers have the smallest budget in the division and manager Nigel Clough admitted: “This was the biggest mismatch in English football today.
“They have spent £15m in one transfer fee [Ruben Neves] and our whole budget is less than half of that.
“They might well spend another £50m next season.
“The quality and the movement they have got is very, very close to Premier League standard.
“Wolves are capable of putting four, five six goals past any team, but no one crumbled. We didn’t let that happen.”
Wolves were able to dispel the theory that their many foreign imports would be unable to cope with the harsh and hazardous conditions of an English winter.
On one of the coldest days of the season, on a snow-sprinkled pitch, they skated to their second win in four days.
Wolves’ early dominance was confirmed by Costa’s fourth goal of the season, in the 15th minute, when he latched on to Conor Coady’s through-pass to slip the ball past Stephen Bywater.
But Burton refused to buckle and Marvin Sordell’s shot from the edge of the box produced a desperate block by Coady before unanswered claims for a penalty by Clough’s men when Tom Flanagan was pushed over by Barry Douglas.
Four minutes before the interval Nuno’s team added a second, when Afobe rifled home Neves’s pass. That looked to be game-over, but Burton hit back three minutes later.
Sordell’s corner was only partially cleared and Lloyd Dyer fired through a crowded area past an unsighted John Ruddy.
It was Burton’s first goal in seven hours and 29 minutes, but it was to be of little value after Wolves restored their twogoal advantage.
Costa set Cavaleiro free and despite a stumble inside the area he still managed to toe-end a pass for Afobe to add to his impressive goal tally.
That spelled the end for Burton, who, despite their spirited first-half efforts, finished well beaten to remain firmly locked in the relegation zone. WOLVES BURTON 5 ............ Shots on Target .......... 1 7 ........... Shots off Target ......... 0 3 ............. Blocked Shots .......... 2 4 ................... Corners ................ 4 10 ..................... Fouls .................. 13 3 ................... Offsides ................ 0 0 ............... Yellow Cards ............. 1 0 ................. Red Cards .............. 0 90.0 .. Passing Success %.70.3 10 ................... Tackles ................ 17 50.0 ...... Tackles Won % ..... 64.7 70.6 ........ Possession % ...... 29.4 49.1 ....... Territorial Adv%.. 50.9 752 ........... Total Passes ....... 300 10 ............. Total Crosses .......... 13 70.6 ....... 1st Half Poss % ..... 29.4 70.7 ...... 2nd Half Poss % .... 29.3