Gary O’Neil’s reign as Wolverhampton Wanderers manager must feel like a distant nightmare to the Molineux masses as Vitor Pereira’s stint in charge continues to go swimmingly well.
Indeed, the popular Old Gold boss has more than breathed life into the West Midlands outfit since his arrival, with the once relegation-threatened team now a staggering 20 points clear of the drop zone after a sixth Premier League victory in a row versus Leicester City.
Of course, there is Matheus Cunha’s situation to still sort out, with the Brazilian superstar perhaps heading for the exit door soon, but the sensational Wolves attacker managed to play a starring role in the 3-0 win despite speculation.
Matheus Cunha's performance in numbers
The Manchester United-linked forward let his football do the talking at Molineux, with Cunha involved in every single goal that hit the back of Mads Hermansen’s constantly bombarded net.
The explosive number ten would open the scoring for Pereira’s in-form hosts on the 33rd minute mark, with one of Rayan Ait-Nouri’s trademark bursts forward confidently finished off by the clinical South American.
He would then turn to being a provider after bagging his 15th Premier League goal of the campaign, with a defence-splitting pass early into the second half allowing Jorgen Strand Larsen to fire home, before then playing Rodrigo Gomes into space to kill the game off after Jamie Vardy cruelly missed from the penalty spot.
Whilst Cunha rightly lapped up most of the praise at the full-time whistle, there were other standout performers on the day that have gone about their business in an understated manner all season long, including one formidable defender.
The Wolves star who is now as undroppable as Cunha
Wolves have really shored up at the back since Pereira’s inspired appointment, with April to date seeing the stern Old Gold only ship three goals in league action.
The more defensively sound performances seem to coincide with Emmanuel Agbadou’s emergence onto the scene, with the Ivorian colossus joining for £16.6m back in January proving to be another golden pick-up, like the Portuguese boss.
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
103
Accurate passes
82/92 (89%)
Key passes
2
Clearances
5
Blocked shots
1
Interceptions
3
Total duels won
4/5
Looking at the table above, it’s clear that Agbadou put in another well-drilled display defensively, with the 6 foot 4 centre-back managing to come away from the 3-0 victory with an 80% duel win rate intact.
Moreover, he also managed to complete all his defensive dirty work successfully with five clearances registered, alongside three interceptions.
Yet, the imposing number 12 would also show off his composure on the ball during the routine win, with Agbadou ending the match with an impressive 89% pass accuracy next to his name from 92 total passes.
At this point in time, Agbadou’s starting spot under Pereira is now as concrete as Cunha’s, with the 27-year-old titan only tasting defeat once since coming into the Old Gold first team fold after his move from Reims.
Both the impressive defender and the spellbinding attacker will hope their continued excellent performances see more wins be tallied up as the season begins to near to its May conclusion, with a top-half finish in the Premier League now in their sights, away from looking nervously down at the relegation spaces once upon a time.
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