WOLVES PAY PENALTY FOR JIMENEZ MISS

WHEN Wolves fans gather in years to come and talk of missed opportunities, Duisburg 2020 will surely figure near the top of the list. This was where Raul Jimenez, one of the best forwards in the business, for once lost his nerve from the spot. The 13th-minute penalty had been awarded after a thrilling burst from Adama Traore was halted illegally inside the box, and would have given Wolves the perfect start to their 59th game of this extended season. Yet Jimenez missed and with it went Wolves’ chance of setting up a Europa

League semi-final against Manchester United. As lightning flashed and thunder growled above the MSV-Arena, Sevilla — five times winners of this competition — gradually took control. That it took them until the 88th minute to make their superiority count, Lucas

Ocampos heading in the brilliant Ever Banega’s cross, will make it all the more painful for Wolves. The Molineux club’s season, which began on July 25 last year in the second qualifying round against Crusaders, had finally ended. In barely a month, they will be back in action again, if the Premier League resumes as planned on September 12. Coaxing these exhausted players back to mental and physical fitness will be a huge challenge for their accomplished coach, Nuno Espirito Santo. Afterwards, the Portuguese manager said: ‘We have frustration. In the last minutes it is something that has happened to us many times. We required focus on a set-piece. I am proud of the boys, we played a tough team and we had moments, small details, small margins. ‘That happens in football. We came this far and now it’s over. Let’s rest and look to the future. We need more players to help us, it’s a small squad.’

SHAKHTAR DONETSK booked a semifinal clash with Inter Milan in Cologne on Monday as they beat Basel 4-1 in Gelsenkirchen last night.