Matheus Cunha inspires Wolves to comfortable victory over Leicester
Wolves 3 - 0 Leicester City
Wolves extended their fine run of form as Matheus Cunha led them to a sixth consecutive Premier League win with a 3-0 triumph over Leicester City.
The Brazilian striker scored one goal and set up efforts for Jorgen Strand Larsen and Rodrigo Gomes, helping Wolves to achieve six top-flight victories in a row for the first time since 1970. Meanwhile, Leicester’s struggles continued, with Jamie Vardy missing a second-half penalty and remaining on 198 goals for the club with just four matches left before his departure.
Cunha, who has a £62.5 million release clause and is widely expected to leave Molineux this summer amid interest from Manchester United, notched his 15th Premier League goal of the campaign. Wolves, who secured their Premier League status earlier this month, will now face the difficult task of finding a replacement for their influential forward.
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For now, though, they can enjoy a comfortable win over Leicester, whose miserable season worsened after their relegation was confirmed last weekend. On the touchline, Leicester’s manager Ruud van Nistelrooy cut a forlorn figure, while Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira was serenaded by the home support, having guided the club to safety and up to 13th in the table.
Pereira’s first match in charge back in December was a 3-0 win over Leicester at the King Power Stadium, a result which, at the time, still left the Foxes outside the relegation zone and two points clear of Wolves. The fortunes of the two clubs have since sharply diverged, with Wolves now sitting 23 points ahead.
With little at stake, the atmosphere at Molineux was largely subdued until Cunha turned in Rayan Ait-Nouri’s low cross midway through the first half. Ait-Nouri had earlier gone close himself, while Leicester offered little in response. Vardy’s missed penalty, after being brought down by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa, summed up a frustrating afternoon for the visitors.
By the time of Vardy’s spot-kick, Wolves were already two goals to the good, with Strand Larsen drilling in low shortly after the break following a glaring miss from close range. Gomes completed the scoring five minutes from time, tapping in another Cunha assist to round off a dominant performance.
Another bad afternoon for Leicester
The mood among the Leicester fans we spoke to after the match was gloomy and summed up by the comment, "I can't wait for the season to be over."
Many will be concerned at the lack of quality in their squad and they will probably need to sign at least eight or nine players if they are going to challenge for promotion next season. There's also the question of whether the manager will stick around, or whether he will be sacked by the club's board.
