Nuno Espirito Santo
Nuno Espirito Santo has praised Morgan Gibbs-White’s mentality after the youngster redeemed himself to fire Wolves to victory over Brighton. Gibbs-White netted the winning goal against the Seagulls a matter of minutes after missing an open goal. It’s the 21-year-old’s first Premier League goal on what was his first start in the competition since January.
Nuno Espirito Santo said: “I think he did a good job, full of movements – especially in the second half. He started on the right and then he came inside and did well. It shows character to get the focus again after that awful mistake that he made. I’m very happy for Morgan.”
Gibbs-White scored the decisive goal but it was Adama Traore’s introduction from the bench with 30 minutes remaining which acted as the catalyst for Wolves’ comeback. The Spain international scored the equaliser with an excellent finish following a one-two with Fabio Silva and it was Traore who teed up Gibbs-White for the gilt-edged chance that he wasted.
Nuno Espirito Santo added: “He changed the game. He totally changed the game. He had an impact with the way he broke in the wide areas – I don’t know how many crosses he made – and then he scored a fantastic goal after a beautiful combination. I’m very happy for Adama because he deserves that – a fantastic player.”
Alongside Gibbs-White, Nuno also handed rare starts to centre-back Max Kilman and right-back Ki-Jana Hoever as he named another youthful Wolves XI.
Nuno Espirito Santo said: “It’s about trying to build. A lot of young players started today, even the match before they started. We have to be aware what’s happening with the squad, we have many players out. They did well. I’m happy with Ki. I thought Ki did a very good game. Max started a little bit shaky but then he settled down and did a good game. Vitor, Fabio, we have a lot of youth. It’s about balancing them with the experienced heads and older players that we have.”
