One alarming statistic highlights Gary O’Neil’s biggest problem at Wolves after Aston Villa loss
Wolves surrendered yet another lead in the Premier League after losing 3-1 against Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
Wolves started their match against Aston Villa brightly, as they didn’t allow the hosts to settle on the ball and showed willingness to press high.
Gary O’Neil’s men reaped the rewards for their early pressure when Matheus Cunha put the visitors ahead inside 25 minutes.
Unfortunately, just like in Wolves’ loss against Newcastle last weekend, a 1-0 lead was surrendered late on as Aston Villa produced a stunning comeback.
Villa scored three goals in the final 17 minutes to condemn O’Neil to his fourth defeat in five Premier League games, leaving the Wanderers rock bottom of the table.
Where Wolves rank in the Premier League table based on first-half performances
Wolves have thrown away seven points this season. In the 6-2 loss against Chelsea, the Wanderers were level at halftime thanks to goals from Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen but were rocked in the second period after watching four fly past them.
This isn’t the only time they’ve crumbled this season, as last weekend, the Old Gold threw away a one-goal lead against Newcastle as Fabian Schar and Harvey Barnes fired in two spectacular goals late on.
Now, a familiar feeling of Deja Vu has struck, leaving Wolves confidence on the floor after conceding three times in the dying embers against Villa.
In each of those three games where points have been dropped, O’Neil’s men have been brilliant in the first half but unable to keep up their performance levels in the second.
Indeed, if the Premier League table was based on first-half results only, Wolves would be sat joint-seventh with eight points to their name instead of one.
Why Wolves crumble in the second half
In fairness to O’Neil, he hasn’t been dealt a very good hand while at Wolves and that was made even worse following the injury to Yerson Mosquera.
However, there is one thing that has let him down this season and that is substitutions. For instance, in the defeat to Newcastle, O’Neil brought on the ‘disappointing Matt Doherty for Nelson Semedo and he ended up costing his side.
The Irishman allowed Barnes to cut inside far too easily before he arrowed his strike into the top right corner.
Likewise, in the defeats to Newcastle and Villa, the decision to take off Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was questionable as the Frenchman was replaced around the 70th-minute mark in both games.
Bellegarde is a willing runner off the ball and is arguably one of the best players in the squad at harrying his opponents.
When taken off the pitch in the final moments of games, Wolves have conceded five goals in their previous two defeats, which underlines his importance to the side.
Therefore, it’s clear that O’Neil’s game management and substitutions can improve moving forward.
