During their 5-1 defeat against Manchester City this evening, Chris Waddle noticed something concerning about Wolves players’ body language.
Wolves conceded a hat-trick against Erling Haaland for the second season running as the Norwegian goal machine put four goals past Jose Sa.
It was always an impossible task for Gary O’Neil’s men to take a positive result back to Molineux, even if they did so in September, as a penalty decision inside 12 minutes set the tone for a difficult night.
Rayan Ait-Nouri was adjudged to have hacked down Josko Gvardiol in the box, and while Wolves fans didn’t agree it was a penalty, Haaland made no mistake by putting the hosts ahead.
The 23-year-old then added three more as Wolves grabbed a consolation through Hwang Hee-Chan before Julian Alvarez scored their fifth from the bench.
A hammering against Pep Guardiola’s trophy-winning juggernaut isn’t anything to be ashamed of, although the visitors’ body language was questioned in the second half.
Chris Waddle questions Wolves players’ body language
When on the receiving end of a 5-1 defeat, the term ‘letting their heads go down’ is normally attributed.
Yet, despite their defence parting like the Red Sea, Wolves did continue to commit bodies forward in an attempt to grab a few more goals in the match.
Hwang scored a consolation, and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde looked promising from the bench, but former Tottenham Hotspur winger Chris Waddle still made an alarming comment about the players’ body language.
He said (via BBC Sport): “City are great to watch but it is too easy for them. Some of these Wolverhampton Wanderers players, looking at their body language, are probably asking how long until full-time.”
Wolves collapsed defensively at the Etihad by conceding two penalties and gifting possession away far too easily. Those are two things you can ill-afford to do in a match, never mind against Man City, while it also emphasised how much O’Neil misses Craig Dawson.
Wolves defensive record without Craig Dawson
O’Neil confirmed that defensive stalwart Dawson would be sidelined for the rest of the season and since he last played in the 3-0 defeat against Newcastle, Wolves’ defensive record has been alarming.
The 33-year-old is the glue that holds the back three together and before his latest setback, he formed a telepathic partnership with Max Kilman and Toti Gomes.
Sadly, now that trio has been broken up, the Wanderers’ defence has fallen apart. Including the five goals shipped tonight, Wolves have conceded 17 goals in nine matches.
Without the Englishman commanding their backline, the Old Gold have seriously struggled to remain watertight and restrict the opposition.
Wolves have now claimed just one win from their last eight matches and Dawson’s absence is a huge factor behind that implosion.