Wolves 1-0 West Ham: Three Things We Learned

Wolves managed to edge past West Ham with a 1-0 win that will ease some of their Premier League relegation fears.

The battle between these two historic clubs was billed as a relegation six-pointer. While the game itself may not have been an all-time classic, the atmosphere at Molineux – and Daniel Podence’s winner – certainly made it feel like a special occasion.

Today, we’re going to take a look at a few of our biggest takeaways from the game.

The Lopetegui effect

Julen Lopetegui has got his squad playing for the badge on their shirt and the fans in the crowd. They were busting a gut from the first minute until the very last, replicating the kind of performances we used to see from Wolves under a prime Nuno Espirito Santo. Everyone was putting in 110% effort and their ‘playing out from the back’ style is already making them look like a far more dangerous opponent.

West Ham’s troubles

West Ham United had one, or maybe two, clear cut chances throughout the entire game on Saturday. Their fans were sarcastically chanting and cheering when they had the ball but in an overall sense, they just didn’t bring enough to the table. There are serious questions that need to be asked of David Moyes because if the Hammers don’t turn things around soon, a new manager and a big clearout may be required.

Relegation chaos

At this moment in time, there are just two points separating the bottom seven clubs in the Premier League table. Yes, you heard correctly – two. Wolves are 16th and West Ham are 18th, and there are a handful of other clubs who are starting to get results after initially seeming down and out. Trying to predict what will happen between now and May is possible but at the very least, we’ve got an intriguing scrap on our hands.