Press coverage of last night

[Thank you Sir Jack]

A couple of choice extracts from the report in the Sunday Telegraph

"even if Wolves never make it to the FA Cup Final in May, they will always have this Saturday night as proof of how far the club have come this season."
"The home team came good in the second half when manager Nuno Espírito Santo let his Wolves off the leash"
"Shrewd and ruthless performance"

Can someone please link to any other reports please? (Apologies if this has been done elsewhere)
Guessing that the Sunday Express might feature "Princess Di late appearance as substitute fails to lift United" etc.

 

[SA Wolf]

The Independent;
Wolves deserved this victory, threatening throughout and scoring twice through the impressive Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota to reach the semi-finals of this competition for the first time in more than 20 years.

 

[SA Wolf]

Daily Mail:
Empowered by their Chinese owners Fosun, another giant of English football is stirring and Manchester City, their principal rivals for this trophy who have seen something similar occur, will take note. This glorious night under lights made you imagine what it must have been like to see Wolves in their prime, Billy Wright and all, taking on Honved in the 1950s; or watching Norman Deeley score the goals to claim their last FA Cup in 1960.

 

[SA Wolf]

More from the Mail:
But Jota's desire and aggression simply saw him get the better of the left back, leaving him on the floor. Now he advanced on goal and Lindelof rushed back to attempt to block him. But he got his shot away and Romero, for once, reacted late and slow, and it crept in past him.

'Crept' maybe they mean on the way back out as it rebounded from the back of the net. It rocketed past Romero on the way in!!

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

Daily Mail:
Empowered by their Chinese owners Fosun, another giant of English football is stirring and Manchester City, their principal rivals for this trophy who have seen something similar occur, will take note. This glorious night under lights made you imagine what it must have been like to see Wolves in their prime, Billy Wright and all, taking on Honved in the 1950s; or watching Norman Deeley score the goals to claim their last FA Cup in 1960.

Funny that they didn't mention him braking someone's leg!

 

[Berlin Wolf]

German Kicker.de
"Großer Schritt zurück": ManUnited fliegt bei den Wolves raus
Die Wolverhampton Wanderers stehen erstmals seit 21 Jahren im Halbfinale des FA Cup. Der Premier-League-Siebte fuhr im heimischen Molineux einen verdienten 2:1-Erfolg gegen ein zu harmloses Manchester United ein, das die zweite Pflichtspielniederlage in Serie kassierte.
"Großer Schritt zurück": ManUnited fliegt bei den Wolves raus: Wolverhampton Wanderers - Manchester United 2:1 (0:0)

German Sport1.de (with Highlights)
ManUnited scheitert an Pokalschreck
FA Cup: Manchester United scheitert an Wolverhampton Wanderers

 

[wolvesinwales]

They keep on doing it, and people keep on being surprised by it. There remain a couple of areas in which they could yet strengthen – the centre of the defence still feels somewhat brittle, at times – but if there is a club in the Premier League that seems capable of expanding the division’s top six into a top seven at present, it’s Wolverhampton Wanderers. Last night, with a performance of outstanding game management and tactical nous, they dumped Manchester United out of this year’s FA Cup and moved forward to a semi-final at Wembley which serves as a useful barometer for the progress that the club has made over the last couple of years or so.

It can hardly be argued that this wasn’t a match that Manchester United didn’t want to win. With last week’s Champions League draw having picked Barcelona for them to play in the quarter-finals, the FA Cup was United’s best chance of marking the end of Jose Mourinho’s reign of terror and the susequent quiet revolution overseen by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since Mourinho’s departure in December. While there remain enough positives to be taken from Solskjaer’s first three months of his time in charge of the club for him to remain the firm favourite to be given the job on a full-time basis come the end of the season, this result was a reminder that this three months has been the start of something as well as the end of something else. Manchester United remain almost unrecognisably stronger than they looked under his predecessor, but they remain susceptible to off nights and there are still improvements to be made to this squad of players come the summer.

For the first fifteen minutes, with five players stretched across a congested-looking midfield like an elastic spider’s web, Wolves sat back and allowed Manchester United to try and poke a hole in their defences. Marcus Rashford, nowadays sporting a buzzcut which hints that he may be considering a side-job as a contestant on Robot Wars, looked perky, but his shooting aim needed recalibrating, and with half an hour played it looked as though this Saturday night’s viewing might end up having more in common with a gritty documentary than light entertainment. Seven minutes from half-time, though, Manchester United had a quarter of a shout for a penalty kick denied when Diogo Dalot’s shot hit Jonny Castro Otto squarely on the elbow.

The kiss of good fortune that blessed Manchester United in Paris a week and a half ago, however, was conspicuous by its absence on this occasion this time, preferring to show its face in Sergio Romero’s excellent save from Diogo Jota a few minutes later after the Wolves forward was put through on goal by Reuben Neves. Replays of the handball at half-time confirmed that, even slowed down and shown from as many different angles as humanly possible, it was impossible to form much of a case for asying that Dalot had moved into his arm deliberately in order to block the shot. In all honesty, had a penalty kick been awarded to Manchester United as a result of this, it would have been something more than their first half performance had merited.

Ten minutes into the second half, Manchester United had an even bigger scare than Jota’s chance near the end of the first. Wolves had stepped on the gas a little since the interval, and when Moutinho’s firmly place header was acrobatically tipped away by Romero, it felt as though these particular Wolves were now knocking fairly insistently at the door and finding themselves getting closer and closer to blowing Manchester United’s house down with each passing attack. Three minutes later, Moutinho tested Romero again with a shot from distance. All the warnings were there, but it took until seventy minutes had been played before the spritely Raul Jimenez finally found a way through with a low shot that fizzed along the ground and into the bottom corner of the goal to give Wolves a lead they thoroughly deserved.

Solskjaer shuffled his pack after the goal, but by this time Wolves were starting to disappear out of sight, and eight minutes after taking the lead they broke quickly again, allowing Jota to shoot past Romero and in to put the result beyond a great deal of doubt. The goalkeeper might have done a little better with it, but to suggest that the second goal was anything less than Wolves deserved would be disingenuous, to say the least. It was, however, a reflection upon the confidence that the Manchester United manager has instilled in his players over the last few weeks that the game wasn’t quite dead yet. It almost became so when Lindelhof was given a red card for clattering into Jota, but three minutes and the involvement of the VAR later, the red card was reduced to a yellow, and with four and a half minutes of five minutes of stoppage time played, Rashford finally found himself with a turn and shot from a Luke Shaw cross to pull something back for Manchester United. With just seconds left on the clock, though, this wasn’t enough.

Manchester United’s season could yet go one way or another. The Premier League title is beyond them, but finishing in third place is far from beyond them, and their recent win over PSG in Paris in the Champions League might even have fuelled a little optimism that they could beat Barcelona over two legs and perhaps even the competition altogether. It’s unlikely, of course, but it’s a long way from where the team was following the home defeat against Liverpool in December which ended up being enough to end Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford. On the other hand, though, the Premier League will be won by either Manchester City or Liverpool, and the Champions League might well be, too. And, while third place in the Premier League should be attainable, it would be premature to take the foot off the gas in those league matches. Arsenal are gathering up a head of steam, whilst Spurs and Chelsea will be both well rested by the time that the Premier League resumes after the international break. Failure to qualify for next year’s Champions League is almost as possible as qualifying for it, for the time being.

Sometimes, a football result gives an indication of where a club is in a broader context than just that one result could ever articulate in itself. There are plenty of reasons to consider the means by which Wolverhampton Wanderers came by this team to be suspect, and the greater involvement of agents in the management of clubs doesn’t suddenly become a good thing because this one happens to be playing attractive football. Having said that, though, when they swept to the Championship title at the end of last season, there were plenty who argued that the optimism surrounding the club at that time was hubris that would unravel in the harsher environment of the Premier League.

This, it now seems reasonable to conclude, is not going to happen. Last night at Molineux, Wolves weren’t only exceptionally well-organised and well drilled, they were also flamboyant in attacking positions, inventive and bold. In a Premier League season that has broadly followed its script to a tee, they’ve been a revelation to those who didn’t see them last season, and look capable of buildig still further. It’s been more than two decades since they last reached an FA Cup semi-final and almost four decades since they last won a major trophy. Last night, they ended one of those runs and gave the closest sign possible that they could end the other as well. A trip to Wembley feels like an appropriate reward for such

 

[The Runner]

And also in the Mail:
Wolves are a team of great synchronicity, where players are constantly shifting positions to cover gaps. When Matt Doherty pushes out to the wing, Romain Saiss becomes right-back. When Joao Moutinho presses high, Leander Dendoncker covers in behind. The Wolves team is a system of tectonic plates, constantly tessellating in different ways. Captain Conor Coady directs from the back.

Can't believe that 'tessellating' is a word often used in football reporting.

 

[WW1963]

I thought we tesselated the crap out of them in that second half.

 

[Golden Oldie]

More from the Mail:
But Jota's desire and aggression simply saw him get the better of the left back, leaving him on the floor. Now he advanced on goal and Lindelof rushed back to attempt to block him. But he got his shot away and Romero, for once, reacted late and slow, and it crept in past him.

'Crept' maybe they mean on the way back out as it rebounded from the back of the net. It rocketed past Romero on the way in!!

True. It was the speed of the shot that did the 'keeper. His hand went across the flight of the ball when it was already a few feet passed him.

 

[wallace]

They keep on doing it, and people keep on being surprised by it. There remain a couple of areas in which they could yet strengthen – the centre of the defence still feels somewhat brittle, at times – but if there is a club in the Premier League that seems capable of expanding the division’s top six into a top seven at present, it’s Wolverhampton Wanderers. Last night, with a performance of outstanding game management and tactical nous, they dumped Manchester United out of this year’s FA Cup and moved forward to a semi-final at Wembley which serves as a useful barometer for the progress that the club has made over the last couple of years or so.

It can hardly be argued that this wasn’t a match that Manchester United didn’t want to win. With last week’s Champions League draw having picked Barcelona for them to play in the quarter-finals, the FA Cup was United’s best chance of marking the end of Jose Mourinho’s reign of terror and the susequent quiet revolution overseen by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since Mourinho’s departure in December. While there remain enough positives to be taken from Solskjaer’s first three months of his time in charge of the club for him to remain the firm favourite to be given the job on a full-time basis come the end of the season, this result was a reminder that this three months has been the start of something as well as the end of something else. Manchester United remain almost unrecognisably stronger than they looked under his predecessor, but they remain susceptible to off nights and there are still improvements to be made to this squad of players come the summer.

For the first fifteen minutes, with five players stretched across a congested-looking midfield like an elastic spider’s web, Wolves sat back and allowed Manchester United to try and poke a hole in their defences. Marcus Rashford, nowadays sporting a buzzcut which hints that he may be considering a side-job as a contestant on Robot Wars, looked perky, but his shooting aim needed recalibrating, and with half an hour played it looked as though this Saturday night’s viewing might end up having more in common with a gritty documentary than light entertainment. Seven minutes from half-time, though, Manchester United had a quarter of a shout for a penalty kick denied when Diogo Dalot’s shot hit Jonny Castro Otto squarely on the elbow.

The kiss of good fortune that blessed Manchester United in Paris a week and a half ago, however, was conspicuous by its absence on this occasion this time, preferring to show its face in Sergio Romero’s excellent save from Diogo Jota a few minutes later after the Wolves forward was put through on goal by Reuben Neves. Replays of the handball at half-time confirmed that, even slowed down and shown from as many different angles as humanly possible, it was impossible to form much of a case for asying that Dalot had moved into his arm deliberately in order to block the shot. In all honesty, had a penalty kick been awarded to Manchester United as a result of this, it would have been something more than their first half performance had merited.

Ten minutes into the second half, Manchester United had an even bigger scare than Jota’s chance near the end of the first. Wolves had stepped on the gas a little since the interval, and when Moutinho’s firmly place header was acrobatically tipped away by Romero, it felt as though these particular Wolves were now knocking fairly insistently at the door and finding themselves getting closer and closer to blowing Manchester United’s house down with each passing attack. Three minutes later, Moutinho tested Romero again with a shot from distance. All the warnings were there, but it took until seventy minutes had been played before the spritely Raul Jimenez finally found a way through with a low shot that fizzed along the ground and into the bottom corner of the goal to give Wolves a lead they thoroughly deserved.

Solskjaer shuffled his pack after the goal, but by this time Wolves were starting to disappear out of sight, and eight minutes after taking the lead they broke quickly again, allowing Jota to shoot past Romero and in to put the result beyond a great deal of doubt. The goalkeeper might have done a little better with it, but to suggest that the second goal was anything less than Wolves deserved would be disingenuous, to say the least. It was, however, a reflection upon the confidence that the Manchester United manager has instilled in his players over the last few weeks that the game wasn’t quite dead yet. It almost became so when Lindelhof was given a red card for clattering into Jota, but three minutes and the involvement of the VAR later, the red card was reduced to a yellow, and with four and a half minutes of five minutes of stoppage time played, Rashford finally found himself with a turn and shot from a Luke Shaw cross to pull something back for Manchester United. With just seconds left on the clock, though, this wasn’t enough.

Manchester United’s season could yet go one way or another. The Premier League title is beyond them, but finishing in third place is far from beyond them, and their recent win over PSG in Paris in the Champions League might even have fuelled a little optimism that they could beat Barcelona over two legs and perhaps even the competition altogether. It’s unlikely, of course, but it’s a long way from where the team was following the home defeat against Liverpool in December which ended up being enough to end Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford. On the other hand, though, the Premier League will be won by either Manchester City or Liverpool, and the Champions League might well be, too. And, while third place in the Premier League should be attainable, it would be premature to take the foot off the gas in those league matches. Arsenal are gathering up a head of steam, whilst Spurs and Chelsea will be both well rested by the time that the Premier League resumes after the international break. Failure to qualify for next year’s Champions League is almost as possible as qualifying for it, for the time being.

Sometimes, a football result gives an indication of where a club is in a broader context than just that one result could ever articulate in itself. There are plenty of reasons to consider the means by which Wolverhampton Wanderers came by this team to be suspect, and the greater involvement of agents in the management of clubs doesn’t suddenly become a good thing because this one happens to be playing attractive football. Having said that, though, when they swept to the Championship title at the end of last season, there were plenty who argued that the optimism surrounding the club at that time was hubris that would unravel in the harsher environment of the Premier League.

This, it now seems reasonable to conclude, is not going to happen. Last night at Molineux, Wolves weren’t only exceptionally well-organised and well drilled, they were also flamboyant in attacking positions, inventive and bold. In a Premier League season that has broadly followed its script to a tee, they’ve been a revelation to those who didn’t see them last season, and look capable of buildig still further. It’s been more than two decades since they last reached an FA Cup semi-final and almost four decades since they last won a major trophy. Last night, they ended one of those runs and gave the closest sign possible that they could end the other as well. A trip to Wembley feels like an appropriate reward for such

Blimey what load of waffle. Is it a match report from a politician?

 

[wallace]

We tessellatted to great effect

 

[Green Wolf]

And also in the Mail:
Wolves are a team of great synchronicity, where players are constantly shifting positions to cover gaps. When Matt Doherty pushes out to the wing, Romain Saiss becomes right-back. When Joao Moutinho presses high, Leander Dendoncker covers in behind. The Wolves team is a system of tectonic plates, constantly tessellating in different ways. Captain Conor Coady directs from the back.

Can't believe that 'tessellating' is a word often used in football reporting.

I’d be willing to bet over half the users of this message board wouldn’t have a clue what it meant.

 

[The Runner]

I’d be willing to bet over half the users of this message board wouldn’t have a clue what it meant.

Certainly included me.

 

[Netherton Wolf]

Commentary on the game was ****ing me off, Him-ay-nez & ,Siass, we have 2 new players, actually it was more like heee- may- nez

 

[GY Wolf]

Commentary on the game was ****ing me off, Him-ay-nez & ,Siass, we have 2 new players

That's the right pronunciation for Raúl but Siass seems a bit back to front haha

 

[Boswell]

On the BBC there was a comment saying United had first been shot down by the Gunners then left to be ravaged by the Wolves - seemed quite fitting

 

[Netherton Wolf]

Was it Lineker who said Troare was like a Ferrari who runs out of petrol ?

 

[quirky_birky]

Was it Lineker who said Troare was like a Ferrari who runs out of petrol ?

I'm sure someone likened him to a Ferrari driven by a learner driver.

 

[Jonzy54]

I'm sure someone likened him to a Ferrari driven by a learner driver.

Keown

 

[Deleted member 6754 (removed at own request)]

Not usually Britney's biggest fan but this quote from his player ratings got a big ole belly laugh from me:

"You know when you're lying on a beach, or in your garden, and a fly or a wasp buzzes around your head, you swat it away but it keeps landing on you until you just have to stand up and swoosh it away. That's Jonny Castro Otto in insect form."

 

[The Professional]

I'm sure someone likened him to a Ferrari driven by a learner driver.

Keown basically saying, in a polite way, he hasn’t got a brain.

 

[jrpb-3]

Keown basically saying, in a polite way, he hasn’t got a brain.

or that one day he's going to pass his test

 

[el gringo]

The Guardian - nicely over the top:

Diogo Jota and Wolves carve apart Manchester United to reach semi-finals

"Wolves, elegant and fierce, advanced to the FA Cup semi-final for the first time in 21 years and Manchester United could do nothing to stop them. First Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s men were frustrated by their hosts, then they were taken apart.

And, even better:

"Now Wolves were seizing the upper hand. In midfield, Moutinho, Neves and Dendoncker started to flit between Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Herrera like artful dodgers confronted by dull bouncers."

 

[berwickwolf]

Sunday Times headline: Wolves devour Man Utd
Best line: [Wolves] were fearless, voracious, memorable in how they ripped their vaunted opponent’s guts...........[we] picked United’s carcass clean via brilliant counterattacks.
The article finishes:
Jota sent the stadium stark, staring, full-moon Wild. “The mighty Wolves are back. Always dad’s dream,” tweeted Vicky, daughter of the great Billy Wright

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

Sunday Times headline: Wolves devour Man Utd
Best line: [Wolves] were fearless, voracious, memorable in how they ripped their vaunted opponent’s guts...........[we] picked United’s carcass clean via brilliant counterattacks.
The article finishes:
Jota sent the stadium stark, staring, full-moon Wild. “The mighty Wolves are back. Always dad’s dream,” tweeted Vicky, daughter of the great Billy Wright

"stark, staring, full-moon Wild" what an image that conjures up.

 

[Incognito]

More from the Mail:
But Jota's desire and aggression simply saw him get the better of the left back, leaving him on the floor. Now he advanced on goal and Lindelof rushed back to attempt to block him. But he got his shot away and Romero, for once, reacted late and slow, and it crept in past him.

'Crept' maybe they mean on the way back out as it rebounded from the back of the net. It rocketed past Romero on the way in!!

I think he meant to say Jota somehow managed to squeeze the ball past their goalie - don't think he meant the shot was weak - which it in no way was. Just a journo not being able to find the right adverb - yours is more apt.

 

[Incognito]

This is why we love Nuno (and how he's got us playing):
“As I walked by the stands there were people saying they saw the 1950s and 1960s and are still coming to the stadium. To see this joy as they leave the stadium – with a lot of beer, of course - is great.”

 

[VancouverWolf]

Was it Lineker who said Troare was like a Ferrari who runs out of petrol ?

Someone on the verdict thread said he was like a child running downhill......lol

 

[oldgoldheart]

Daily Mail:
Empowered by their Chinese owners Fosun, another giant of English football is stirring and Manchester City, their principal rivals for this trophy who have seen something similar occur, will take note. This glorious night under lights made you imagine what it must have been like to see Wolves in their prime, Billy Wright and all, taking on Honved in the 1950s; or watching Norman Deeley score the goals to claim their last FA Cup in 1960.

Great words.

 

[Deano's Golden Boots]

I think he meant to say Jota somehow managed to squeeze the ball past their goalie - don't think he meant the shot was weak - which it in no way was. Just a journo not being able to find the right adverb - yours is more apt.

Yep. It crept past him at about 140 mph.

 

[Incognito]

Yep. It crept past him at about 140 mph.

Agreed. Jota takes care of those moments very well indeed. Here's what Guardian Online had to say about that marvellous second goal:
"But Wolves scented blood and soon finished off their visitors. The killer blow came six minutes after the first. After clearing a corner Wolves overwhelmed United with a counterattack, Jota concluding it by outfighting and outwitting Luke Shaw before thrashing a shot into the net."

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

This is why we love Nuno (and how he's got us playing):
“As I walked by the stands there were people saying they saw the 1950s and 1960s and are still coming to the stadium. To see this joy as they leave the stadium – with a lot of beer, of course - is great.”

To use that horrible modern expression, Nuno "gets" Wolves.