The losing run goes on, and the pressure on Gary O’Neil continues to mount.
But after a 2-1 defeat against Manchester City laced with late controversy, Wolverhampton Wanderers — who are still bottom of the Premier League, now with one point from their first eight matches — at least had a few reasons for slight positivity.
That was definitely not the case before this latest result, when Wolves fans were struggling to find any crumbs of comfort in a 2024-25 season where setback has piled on top of disappointment, reaching a low point with the 5-3 surrender at Brentford in their previous outing.
At least at Molineux on Sunday, after the blow of a 95th-minute John Stones winner compounded by VAR inconsistency that allowed it to stand, they had some familiar comforts to cling to.
There was the sight of Jose Sa, recalled for an injured Sam Johnstone, flying around his six-yard box making crucial, agile saves, making a strong case to retain his place away against Brighton next weekend irrespective of Johnstone’s fitness.
There was the spectacle of Craig Dawson leading the way in Wolves achieving a complete shutdown of Erling Haaland for the second time in as many seasons, this time aided and abetted by the impressive Santiago Bueno and Toti.
And yes, on that subject, there was the sight of a three-centre-backs setup as the foundation for a Wolves performance that ranks, at least in terms of determination and sheer difficulty to break down, as their strongest of the season — a low bar, perhaps, but still one that was cleared.
Depending on the ultimate course of Wolves’ season, and of O’Neil’s Molineux tenure, legitimate questions might well be asked about why it took so long to revert to the three-man defence that has served the club well in recent years and, indeed, the decision to move away from it in the first place.
But it has now been restored and, while O’Neil was keen again to play down the significance of systems and formations, it was a welcome sight to see Wolves operating in a similar way to that which brought success for much of his 2023-24 debut season before injuries bit in the final stages.
Dawson, the veteran colossus, looks so much more effective when flanked by fellow centre-backs, allowing him to stay in central areas and win headers and tackles, even at age 34, in a manner few Premier League central defenders can match.
Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait-Nouri also looked instantly more comfortable when restored to the wing-back roles in which both have enjoyed their best successes for the club, with Semedo’s cross for the Jorgen Strand Larsen goal that gave Wolves a first-half lead arguably his finest since joining from Barcelona four years ago.
It seems counterintuitive, but the pair also appeared to defend more effectively as wing-backs than when deployed as conventional full-backs, even though many of the positions they found themselves in were identical.
It might just be the psychological boost that comes from a familiar system or the knowledge that 100 per cent concentration is needed against four-in-a-row champions City, but, either way, the switch back to 5-2-3 worked wonders for them both.
“Every game plan we go with is really detailed,” O’Neil said in his post-match press conference. “It’s not just, ‘Lads, back five today — all the best’. There’s an awful lot that goes into that, as there was against Liverpool when we held them at bay for ages in a back four.
“I’ve played a back five against Manchester City as a coach, and we’ll see next weekend (at Brighton). I’ll try to come up with the best game plan, but the big thing was how well the lads stuck to it compared to Brentford. We got from it at Brentford, whether that was down to emotion or making an error in the first minute, and then ended up all over the place. This shows the players that if you stick to it, how it can bridge gaps against good sides.”
Nevertheless, it now seems unthinkable that O’Neil will revert, in the near future, to the back four seen in the opening seven games of the season.
This game against City — much like the one last season that saw a similar switch from two central defenders to three and which brought a famous Wolves win — seems likely to herald a permanent return to familiar methods.
As in 2023-24, it is unlikely Wolves will adopt such an extreme, low-block, counter-attacking game plan against opponents other than City. But also like that campaign, this fixture looks set to be the basis on which future game plans are built — being fluid and adaptable, especially on the left flank, where Toti and Ait-Nouri can shift the structure into a 4-4-2, but all based on the presence of those three central defenders.
This home game against City, and the tactical change, came three weeks and one match later in the schedule than their Molineux meeting this year. Time will tell whether it can have a similar impact overall.
But at least for the next few days, it will provide Wolves supporters with a chink of light in a pretty dark tunnel.
(Top photo: Jorgen Strand Larsen celebrates his goal; Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
