Wolves vs Fulham recap: Cottagers rue Mitrovic’s late penalty miss (video)

TrendynewsAugust 13, 2022Last Updated: August 13, 2022

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Wolves vs Fulham recap: In the end, it was a point apiece, though the Cottagers will be severely disappointed with the scoreless draw at Molineux Stadium on Saturday.

In a game with precious few scoring chances, Fulham were given a lifeline in the form of a late penalty kick, but star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic blasted the ball into the belly of Jose Sa, failing to follow up on his opening-day brace before nearly being sent off for violent conduct late into stoppage time.

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There’s no two ways about this: If a newly promoted team wishes to remain in the Premier League for season no. 2, they must convert penalty kicks to steal all three points when handed a golden opportunity with 10 minutes left. A point gained is nice as a moral victory, but the fact remains that three points were there for the taking with one kick of the ball. Dropped points in August hurt exactly the same as points dropped in March, April and May.

Tactical focus

Wolves found endless early joy playing simple through balls in behind Fulham’s defense, which was pushed up to (and sometimes beyond) the halfway line. A Wolves defender would win the ball, play it forward into midfield and Ruben Neves or Leander Dendoncker would spot Pedro Neto or Hwang Hee-chan making the diagonal run in behind. Marek Rodak came up big, twice in the first 10 minutes, and Wolves wouldn’t put another shot on target the rest of the game.

What’s next?

Up next for Wolves is a trip to north London to face Tottenham next Saturday. Fulham, meanwhile, will host the season’s first west London derby when they welcome Brentford to Craven Cottage.