Mutiny at Molineux as fans demand Neves stays

PERHAPS the nicest way of looking at it? This felt like a fitting end to another season of home discomfort at Molineux. No Premier League ground has been as hospitable to visitors over the past couple of years — Wolves have suffered 17 defeats here since September 2020. Norwich, already relegated and chasing some ugly records of their own, failed to add to that. That’s a positive, at least. Beyond that, this was a fairly dreadful way to sign off Bruno Lage’s first home campaign. Boos, protest songs, and a tepid display. It could have been worse, had Rayan Ait-Nouri not cancelled out Teemu Pukki’s first-half opener. Lage has been a victim of early success, certainly, and he maintains his players ‘are doing something special’. But with no win in six, is it any wonder he wants an overhaul — and that some fans are growing frustrated? It is not as if Wolves had nothing to play for. They knew only victory could keep alive their European ambitions. And yet mutiny was soon in the air. ‘You’ll have a riot on your hands,’ the home crowd sung on repeat. They were pleading against the possible sale of Ruben Neves. Lage isn’t sure whether the midfielder will stay but the Wolves boss, back in the dugout after testing positive for coronavirus, said: ‘I don’t know what they sing but if you tell me I will sing the same things!’ Pukki could have had a hat-trick inside 15 minutes. There was no let-off on 37 minutes. Played in down the right, Pukki stood up Conor Coady and dribbled a shot inside John Ruddy’s near post via a tiny deflection. It was so soft — Lage was furious, so were the crowd. Coady was taken off at the break — some way to mark becoming the first player to make 150 Premier League appearances for Wolves. But the change worked and within 10 minutes Wolves were level. Norwich failed to clear a free-kick, it landed on Ait-Nouri who nodded across Angus Gunn. ‘It was never a free-kick,’ said Norwich boss Dean Smith. His aim is to finish second bottom — a small leap that could be worth millions of pounds. ‘If the linesman had given the right decision we’d be above (Watford) by now,’ he said. Molineux came alive with noise of a different kind thereafter and Wolves soon thought they had the lead when Pedro Neto’s stooping header was kept out by Gunn. Norwich held on, meaning they avoided a sixth consecutive defeat.

WOLVES (3-4-3): Ruddy 6.5; Boly 5, Coady 4.5 (Chiquinho 46min, 6.5), Toti 6.5; Jonny 6, Neves 6, Moutinho 5.5, Ait-Nouri 6.5; Jimenez 5, Hwang 6 (Silva 74, 6.5), NETO 7 (Podence 75, 6). Scorer: Ait-Nouri 55. Manager: Bruno Lage 5.5. NORWICH (5-4-1): Gunn 6.5; Aarons 6.5, Byram 6, Hanley 6, Gibson 6, Giannoulis 5; Gilmour 5.5 (Rupp 62, 6), Normann 6 (Sorensen 70, 6), Dowell 6 (Rowe 83, 6), Lees-Melou 5; Pukki 6.5. Scorer: Pukki 37. Booked: Aarons, Normann, Giannoulis. Manager: Dean Smith 6.5. Referee: Tony Harrington 6. Attendance: 31,219.