Si Senor: Four talking points from Wolves 1-0 win at Southampton

Raul Jimenez scored his first goal of the season and his first competitive goal since his horrific injury in Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 win away at Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

It was just the second victory of the Premier League campaign for Wanderers who move up to 14th in the table on six points.

By no means was it a game that made for the prettiest of viewing but as seen already this year, pretty doesn’t always get results.

Here are four talking points that we picked out from Sunday’s much-needed win.

Brave Bruno

Bruno Lage’s team selection raised plenty of eye-brows pre-match - including those of my own.

His decision to not only change the team up but to leave the usually ever-present Adama Traore and Ruben Neves on the bench was extremely brave and could have quite easily back-fired. But it didn’t.

Lage would have left himself open to a mountain of criticism had the result not gone in Wanderers’ favour but that didn’t phase him and he made the decision anyway - one that ultimately paid off.

He revealed in his post-match press conference that it was purely tactical and who are we to question the boss after three points?

Having a man that isn’t afraid to make the big decisions is vital when striving for success and Lage’s bravery bodes well for the long-term success of the team.

Jose Sa

Jose Sa had big boots to fill when he came in to replace the outgoing Rui Patricio and he’s well on his way to filling them if Sunday’s performance is anything to go by.

Aside from one erratic moment early on, the Portuguese shot-stopper was superb, providing a number of vital saves at important times throughout the game.

His style very-much reminds me of Alisson Becker during his early days with Liverpool and that’s never a bad thing. If he can perform like that on a consistent basis, Wolves will have a real player on their hands.

To add the cherry on top of Sunday’s display, he also provided the assist for Jimenez’s goal. Not bad Sa, not bad at all.

Si Senor

Speaking of that man Raul. Pass the ball to him.

What a moment it was to see him score his first competitive goal for the club in 336 days. And what a goal it was, too.

As said previously, the game itself wasn’t anything special on the eye but the big Mexican’s goal certainly was.

He took Sa’s long-ball down expertly before proceeding to put both Jan Bednarek & Mohammed Salisu on their backsides and slotted past Alex McCarthy in the Saints goal.

It was vintage Raul and the celebrations that followed from fans, players and staff alike was magnificent to see. This is just the start.

The fans

And a special mention for those fans that made the long trip to the south coast.

It’s not been an easy start to the season but they still traveled in their numbers and made themselves heard throughout.

Just as the celebration with Raul was special, so was the embrace with manager Bruno Lage at the end.

“Bruno, Bruno, Bruno,” was the chant as the manager held three fingers up to the travelling faithful.

Lage said post-match: “These three points are going straight to the fans because the way they support us is very good.”

Trust the process.