Lemina gives Wolves another dimension as Neves and Adama Traore learn Lopetegui lessons

Latest Wolves news from BirminghamLive includes Alex Dicken's analysis from the 3-0 win over Liverpool

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Sport opinion

Alex Dicken Senior Football Writer

09:00, 05 Feb 2023

Birmingham City reporter for BirminghamLive and the Birmingham Mail

Mario Lemina celebrates Wolves' victory over Liverpool

Julen Lopetegui became the manager to finally end Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Premier League hoodoo against Liverpool.

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Wolves had lost every encounter with the Reds since returning to the top flight in 2018, and they hadn’t tasted victory against them since 2010. But an own goal from Joel Matip, and further strikes from Craig Dawson and Ruben Neves handed Wolves a stunning 3-0 win over beleaguered Liverpool.

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Lopetegui has now won three of his six Premier League games in charge - compared to the two Wolves managed in the 15 games before he arrived. Wolves are now 15th in the Premier League table, two points above the drop zone.

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READ: Wolves player ratings as Ruben Neves caps special 3-0 win over Liverpool

READ: Lopetegui highlights new Ruben Neves ‘quality’ after Wolves rout Liverpool

Lemina could become a key signing

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Wolves have had Mario Lemina on their radar for a number of years, so his talents are appreciated by the club’s powerbrokers. But very few people outside the corridors of power at Molineux believed the Gabonese midfielder would be anything other than a rotation option for Lopetegui.

He might still become that, but Lemina showed on Saturday that he can be the foil for Neves and Matheus Nunes to excel. While Neves marauded forward and caused panic in Liverpool’s final third, Lemina acted as Wolves’ insurance policy behind him.

The former Southampton and Fulham man was completely dominant in midfield. Recoveries and tackles were a theme of Lemina’s performance. He could prove to be Wolves’ most important signing of the January window.

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Lopetegui is adding to Neves’ genius

We have watched Neves patrol in front of Wolves’ defence for years and seen occasional glimpses that he might thrive with a little more freedom. The presence of Lemina has allowed Lopetegui to loosen his reins on Neves and Wolves reaped the rewards against Liverpool.

Neves has scored some sublime goals during his Wolves career, but he netted a completely different type of goal on Saturday. In Frank Lampard-esque fashion, Neves arrived late inside the box and finished calmly past Alisson.

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The word Lopetegui used to describe Neves was ‘complete’. Wolves’ season before Lopetegui arrived in November was a disaster, but on a personal level this might well be Neves’ most complete season to date.

Adama Traore is learning too

We also witnessed the most productive Adama Traore cameo of the season. He created two big chances for his teammates, one which was taken by Neves and one which was wasted by Raul Jimenez.

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Adama also flashed a superb cross into Liverpool’s box in the final moments which would have been buried by anyone other than 5ft 5in Daniel Podence. He showed more control and precision in the final third against Liverpool.

Every now and then Adama gives us a glimpse of what he could be. Hopefully there are many more of these performances before Adama inevitably leaves Wolves in the summer.

Two moments which defined the mood

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The atmosphere at Molineux was red-hot right from the first whistle. The Wolves supporters channelled the anger of the FA Cup injustice to roar their team on to victory.

Molineux’s noise levels has been a topic of conversation in recent weeks with some supporters brainstorming ways to improve the atmosphere. But nothing can beat good football and an even better result.

There were two moments in particular which stood out. The first saw everyone inside Molineux jump to their feet in stoppage time to give Wolves a standing ovation as they toyed with Liverpool.

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The second, which would have gone unseen by most, happened after the majority of Molineux’s crowd had left. Nathan Collins - who was harshly dropped to accommodate Craig Dawson - emerged to perform some drills in front of the South Bank. About a thousand or so supporters still inside the stadium showed their support and sympathy for a player who has done very little wrong in recent weeks.

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