The kids are alright: West Brom 1 Wolves 1

Analysis of the 1-1 draw as Wolves had to settle for a point at the Hawthorns

May 06, 2021

It was never going to take much to improve upon the previous performance, but there was plenty to be encouraged by in Wolves’ draw against West Brom, even if it is frustrating not to win against such poor opposition.

I think most saw the line-ups and imagined Nuno would set the team up like this:

But he caught us by surprise and elected to go with a back four in the absence of Willy Boly. Leander Dendoncker was alongside Rúben Neves in midfield, with Adama Traoré, Vitinha and Owen Otasowie behind Fábio Silva.

Although it lacked balance with Otasowie out of position (he took some time to get going in the game to say the least) - it was a damn sight more encouraging than what we have had to witness in recent weeks. The young players who came in showed that there is still plenty to look forward to.

Vitinha shines

Although it probably is a good for him to have been allowed time to adapt to the tempo and physically of the Premier League - I think it’s fair to ask why we haven’t seen more of this guy this season.

Vitinha’s movement to receive and composure on the ball allowed Wolves to dominate possession and build attacks in the West Brom half.

This clip gives a good snapshot of what he can offer the team moving forwards. The team doesn’t have enough players prepared to take an extra touch to stay on the ball under pressure, but Vitinha is extremely comfortable doing so.

[video-to-gif output image] — Vitinha under pressure

Not only is he able to shift the ball under pressure and protect it from the opposition, but he also recognises when to play the ball first time to release someone into space.

What was also refreshing was how often he is looking to think and play forwards. Though it did not always come off, it meant that the West Brom defence had to be wary of the threat in behind from Silva, which has been an issue for Wolves offensively this season.

His creativity played a key role in the Wolves goal just before half time. After Otasowie’s good work out wide, it was Vitinha’s clever flick that got Nélson Semedo in behind the West Brom defence to tee up Silva.

I don’t think there is much doubt that Vitinha was the best player on the pitch. Wolves have options to buy for both him and Rayan Aït Nouri, and with the promise that both show it feels like it would be foolish not to activate those ahead of next season. They represent the future for the team but their talent is also enough for them to perform in the team right now.

Midfield protection

Rúben Neves and Leander Dendoncker were the players positioned in front of the back four in this game, and in general they managed to find a better balance than in the previous games playing together in this formation.

Against West Ham, they were both comically out of position throughout the first half which led to Wolves being 3-0 down. In the following game, they were far too deep which meant Wolves struggled to get a foothold on the game or create in the opposition half.

Quite often Nuno has tasked Dendoncker with getting up and down the pitch due to his fitness and perceived mobility, but as he is technically quite limited this has always prevented Wolves from having quality in the opposition half. Equally, it has often left João Moutinho or Rúben Neves to cover more ground in front of the defence, which they are less suited for.

Dendoncker plays the ‘anchor’ role for Belgium in a team full of talent and keeps his game relatively simple and I was pleased to see him doing that on Monday evening. He’s struggled for form this season but I think this is partly due to him being poorly utilised. As a pure defensive midfielder, he offers us good physicality and is better suited to being asked to retain the ball rather than being a creator on and off the ball.

Dendoncker’s positioning also allowed Neves to press a bit higher himself and look to win the ball back earlier when Wolves lost possession. This prevented West Brom from being able to counter attack effectively, and meant the Wolves centre backs could take down the long clearances under little pressure.

What Wolves also did, as you might notice in the above clip, was have one full back slightly tucked in. This further prevents the chance of Wolves being exposed during a transition as they have less ground to cover and can protect the centre of the pitch from being exposed. It’s a positive sign to see Nuno positioning his players like that whilst also asking them to join in the build up play during attacks.

The only time the midfield struggled to impact the game was for a fifteen minute spell in the second half, where West Brom bypassed them with their long passing as Conor Coady noted post-game:

There was a ten-minute period where we let the long balls get to us a little bit, we were trying to beat them winning second balls, and we let them into the game a little bit and that’s when they scored, which was disappointing from our point of view. (Coady, 5th May)

Wolves response was to try and manage the second balls, but they may have been better off pressing higher up the pitch to prevent the long balls in the first place.

Breakdown of the goal conceded

Having struggled in that period of the game, Wolves seemed to have come out of that spell unscathed (partly down to two excellent stops by Rui Patrício). However, in the 62nd minute they conceded a goal that the team will be disappointed by all round. It is easy to pin this on Semedo not preventing the cross but there are factors that show it was not entirely his fault.

Semi Ajayi has the ball in space following an attempted flick on by Silva. Silva, Otasowie and Vitinha are all in that area but none put enough pressure on Ajayi in order to stop the pass over them.

With Otasowie in a central area, Ajayi’s ball to Matt Phillips leaves a lot of space for Phillips and Conor Townsend who is overlapping.

Phillips in space with Townsend overlapping

Semedo has an issue here. He is also having to mark an attacking player, so has to delay stepping out of the defensive line to engage the wide players. He needs Conor Coady and Romain Saïss to shift over earlier to free him up. If he leaves the West Brom player too early, he risks a ball inside which would be too dangerous to allow.

He waits for Phillips to come inside and release the ball (upon being pressured by Dendoncker) to Townsend. By this point, he’s unable to prevent the cross coming in and Mbaye Diagne somehow is unmarked in the box.

I think the biggest error is from Saïss overall, he enters the box alongside Diagne, and for some reason runs towards the ball and consequently gets caught under Townsend’s excellent cross. If Saïss simply marks Diagne or just stays alongside him, Diagne would have had to work a lot harder to win the header.

In the first instance, Otasowie needs to recover (or Silva cover him) to help defend the run of Townsend. The back four and Dendoncker shift over too late, which means Semedo fails to prevent the cross and ultimately, Saïss’s defending in the box is poor. You’d like to think that Willy Boly would defend that situation better if he had been fit and it further highlights the need for a new central defender.

Up next: Brighton

Wolves’ last two home games against Brighton have finished 0-0, and Wolves have a pretty poor record against Brighton as far as I can remember (Bobby Zamora tearing us apart in 2003). There have been a lot of home draws in that time though and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if that was the case again.

Brighton have been a rather strange team to observe from the outside this season. Graham Potter is clearly a good coach and they have some pretty decent players in their first eleven but seem to be let down by poor quality in a couple of positions and a ridiculous wastefulness in front of goal. If they retain Potter and continue to further improve their squad, they could be one to watch next season.

Neither team have a great deal to play for, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it is a fairly low key affair. The 3-3 at the Amex was a strange game, with both teams having dominant spells but I don’t expect it to be quite so open on this occasion. Brighton are very solid at the back and Wolves seem to be finding some balance when they play with a back four.

Nuno will likely have a similar squad to pick from. Owen Otasowie grew into the game on Monday, but Morgan Gibbs-White (who was bright in his cameo appearance) may suit the wide attacking midfield role slightly better. You have to hope Vitinha, Aït Nouri and Silva will retain their places in the team having all impressed. If Aït Nouri’s injury is still an issue, Max Kilman may have to deputise at left back.

With four games remaining, it might also be nice to see someone like Theo Corbeanu get some minutes. He’s had an excellent season for the U23s, and might benefit from some senior minutes in a wide position. Christian Marques was also on the bench and although it may be a risk to throw him in at centre back, it could be worth finding out what the talented 18 year-old has to offer. With how the other young players coped, they might just surprise us!

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