da pixbet： [ad_pod ]
da jogodeouro： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
It was an afternoon to forget at Molineux for Nuno Santo and Wolves.
They were put to the sword by Chelsea on Saturday as they stuck five past the Premier League strugglers, who now go second-bottom in the table.
Tammy Abraham smashed in three goals as well as one of Wolves’ two as the young striker clearly had the home side’s defence on strings in the absence of both Willy Boly and Ryan Bennett.
At the other end of the pitch, Raul Jimenez was rather ineffective managing a rating of just 6.21 and firing both of his two shots off target, per WhoScored.
That had to be expected to some extent as the Mexican striker only returned from international duty just 48 hours earlier.
So with Diogo Jota also out of form, managing a rating of just 6.46 in the league, perhaps it is time that Nuno takes a big decision and places more faith into his rotational options, especially after strengthening in the summer.
On the Chalkboard
Patrick Cutrone was introduced at half-time having started just two of his eight appearances in a gold and black shirt.
He joined the club for £16m in the summer and has found regular game time hard to come by, but his involvement in the Chelsea match was subliminal in defeat.
Not that he would have altered the result by much, but the 21-year-old showed he’s ready for a more regular berth.
Frank Lampard made a change of his own for the second half by bringing Kurt Zouma on for Antonio Rudiger, who made his first start of the season.
Watch Wolverhampton Wanderers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
The Wolves substitute quickly gained the better of the Frenchman, recording three shots – one of which resulted in a goal.
Cutrone also beat his man by winning two aerial duels while the 6 foot 3 defender could only manage one.
Chelsea were more on the back foot in the second period; if the final 45 minutes alone counted, the result would be a reasonable 2-2 draw.
That was emphasised by Zouma’s four clearances, two blocks and three dispossessions – something Cutrone appeared to capitalise on by managing a successful tackle, per WhoScored.
This performance proved that Nuno now has a dilemma on his hands. Does he continue with Jota and Jimenez or go with Cutrone? Only time will tell.
[ad_pod ]