Leicester 0 Wolves 3 - Report

Goncalo Guedes swept home the opening goal to send the away end into raptures and hand Wolves a 19th minute lead.

Rodrigo Gomes then notched his first goal for the club, in calamitous circumstances from a Leicester perspective.

Matheus Cunha’s ninth goal of the season put Wolves firmly in control as a clinical first half came to an end.

It was a comfortable and quiet second half as Wolves saw the game out with ease and secured just their third win of the season, handing Pereira the perfect start.

Analysis

Pereira’s first team selection saw a recall for a number of Wolves’ Portuguese talents, while in defence Craig Dawson was left on the bench.

They started in a 5-2-3 formation with Matt Doherty as a member of the three centre-backs.

Mario Lemina missed out due to a calf injury, alongside Pablo Sarabia.

For Leicester, former Wolves captain Conor Coady started in defence.

It was a fairly even start to the game from two sides lacking quality.

But the first big chance came when a long through ball beat Santi Bueno and put Jamie Vardy through on goal.

Goalkeeper Jose Sa did well to rush off his line and as Vardy attempted to chip the ball over him, he blocked it with his chest and did enough to clear his lines.

Wolves then took the lead to send the travelling supporters wild.

After a set piece had been cleared, Nelson Semedo pinged it back into the box and Jorgen Strand Larsen did well to block Jannik Vestergaard and allow the ball to run through for Guedes.

He beat Coady to the ball and turned it beyond Danny Ward. Guedes took a knock in the process and did not celebrate, but the away fans certainly did, in what was a huge goal in Wolves’ relegation battle.

Leicester had a couple of corners but did little with them as they struggled to threaten Wolves’ defence, while the visitors looked sharp on the break.

A delightful backheel from Guedes released Semedo, who played it back to the winger. His cross almost picked out R.Gomes.

The summer signing was making several runs on the left side and another intelligent run eventually resulted in Wolves’ second goal.

A fantastic ball from Doherty saw James Justin inexplicably decide to let the ball run and R.Gomes ghosted in behind him. The ball seemed to get away from him with his first touch, but it still got the better of Ward and trickled over the line for R.Gomes’ first goal for the club.

Leicester almost dragged a goal back when Toti Gomes had a simple clearance but managed to miss the ball entirely and gave Vardy a chance to shoot, but the defender made up for his error by blocking that shot on the line and preventing a goal.

Wolves then went up the other end and made it 3-0. Guedes turned inside and found Cunha who let fire and saw his ball go through Ward and into the far corner.

As the home fans booed, Wolves entered half-time with a commanding lead and the travelling fans were singing the head coach’s name.

Leicester made two half-time substitutions but it did little to impact the game as it was quickly stopped for several minutes after Sa took a knee to the head from Vardy.

Once the game was back under way, the hosts were struggling to impose themselves and the fans were being frustrated - as they sarcastically cheered at substitutions and Ward catching the ball in goal.

But the Foxes still posed some threat in behind and Vardy raced through and rounded Sa, but hit the side netting with his shot from a tight angle.

Wolves, despite being comfortable, still looked shaky in defence and made a few unforced errors with clearances, handing the hosts a glimmer of hope.

Jordan Ayew then whipped in a free-kick and found Vardy at the near post, but his header was straight at Sa.

Wolves were comfortable and coasting as they nearly scored a fourth. Cunha’s cross was met by Bueno, who headed just wide.

Substitute Hwang Hee-chan then had a great chance to shoot, but dummied the ball thinking Larsen was behind him and the chance was gone.

As the game reached the 80th minute the game had hit a lull and Leicester did not look likely to get back into it and the travelling fans were enjoying themselves in the festive conditions.

Vardy once again looked to run in behind but dragged the ball wide.

Joao Gomes then had a header from five yards after Cunha’s cross, but he headed wide. Moments later, Cunha set him up for another shot but it was straight at Ward.

As four minutes of added time came to an end, Wolves secured three priceless points as Pereira’s tenure at the club got off to a dream start.

Key Moments

GOAL 19 Guedes puts Wolves ahead

GOAL 36 R.Gomes doubles Wolves’ lead

GOAL 44 Cunha fires Wolves into a strong 3-0 lead

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Semedo (Forbs, 89), Doherty, Bueno, Toti, R.Gomes (Dawson, 84), Andre, J.Gomes (Bellegarde, 89), Guedes (Hwang, 74), Cunha, Larsen (Doyle, 84).

Subs not used: Johnstone, Meupiyou, Lima, Cundle.

Leicester: Ward, Justin (Choudhury, 54), Coady, Vestergaard (Faes, 45), Kristiansen, Soumare, Skipp (Winks, 45), El Khannouss (De Cordova-Reid, 54), Mavididi, Ayew (Buonanotte, 84), Vardy.

Subs not used: Iversen, Okoli, Thomas, Daka.