Bruno Lage has told his Wolverhampton Wanderers stars to attack their remaining nine fixtures with ‘belief and courage’ after Everton became their latest victims.
Bruno Lage said: “We knew a team like that, when they lost 5-0, would come in the beginning. We made a good defence and held on a little bit in the first 20 minutes and after that, the game turned calm and we controlled it. It was maybe one of the best second halves we did, we managed the game with and without the ball. We prepared well for it. We put many players as midfielders, that’s why Leander (Dendoncker) played, to have more players in the middle, to have more possession and keep the rhythm. When we felt the game, after 15 or 20 minutes, calmed, we had the players to find the spaces and we did. The second half was so good.We need to give them credit for what they did. Their manager changed from a line of five to a line of four and my players did everything we asked. We adapted, we changed and continued to dominate possession.”
Coady grabbed the headlines with a fantastic header, but it was the performance of birthday boy Ruben Neves – who assisted the winning goal – which stood out most on Merseyside. In addition to his assist, Neves completed three dribbles, made two tackles and had 89 percent pass completion.
Bruno Lage said: “It’s so important. That’s why I am always near him, talking with him, because he needs to understand more things in the game; how the opponent plays, how they press our defenders, where he needs to be if they go man-to-man, like they tried to with Dele Alli in the second half. He is doing very well and it was another good performance. Like I said after the Watford game, what I want from Ruben – I think he has the talent to be top of the top – is a good performance after Everton, and after Leeds another good performance.”
