'I love working with him': Gary O'Neil heaps praise on game-changing Wolves star after 'deserved' Fulham win

Wolves punched their second consecutive win on Saturday to boost spirits after a troublesome start to their 2024/25 Premier League season. After securing a much-needed victory before the international break against Southampton, Gary O’Neil’s side made the trip to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham, who have been knocking on the door of the top six so far.

Despite going a goal down after Alex Iwobi’s 20th-minute opener, Wolves dug their claws in and pulled off a superb and well-earned comeback.

Just 11 minutes after Fulham’s first goal, Wolves’ leading goalscorer for the season Matheus Cunha popped up with an equaliser. After entering the break tied, the Old Gold hit the Cottagers for another three goals. João Gomes and substitute Gonçalo Guedes both got on the scoresheet, with the latter wrapping up the afternoon deep into stoppage time.

Cunha also bagged his brace in superb style, rifling a long-range strike into Bernd Leno’s goal to put the game out of reach with just minutes to go. The Brazilian’s efforts mean he has now been directly involved in nine goals in his last eight Premier League appearances.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, O’Neil said: “It was one of my favourite performances in my time as a coach. It took courage and character. When you asked me about the team before the game, I gave a lot of positive messages but we knew this was going to be a really tough test. Every single one of the players managed to stand up and do an incredible job.

“It wasn’t as if we nicked a win today, I thought we were good value. Some fantastic goals, some real gritty, hardworking defending. Something that the players deserve because they’ve worked hard and not had too many things go their way so far.”

O’Neil also discussed how his side ‘fully deserved’ the statement win and went on to praise the game-changing Cunha, stressing that he loves to work with him and how pleased he is with the improvements he has made in his performances.

“I love him, I love working with him. The improvements he’s made are just incredible. When I came, there was an incredible, undeniable talent, but [he was] someone who didn’t know how to make [the most of] it. We get him in some great spots now.

“He’s a great guy. It’s probably his best out-of-possession performance for us. He fitted into our structure very well, led from the front and brought some incredible quality to the game.”