Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Preston North End: Raul Jimenez & Adama Traore seal win
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Preston North End: Wolves secured their first season victory by claiming victory over Preston, a team from the Championship, in the Carabao Cup.
Before Adama Traore’s thunderous left-footed volley, Raul Jimenez scored a goal by tapping the ball in at the back post. This gave them a 2-0 lead.
Before halftime, Hwang Hee-Chan had an excellent opportunity to make it 3-0, but the goalkeeper for Preston, David Cornell, made an easy stop on his mediocre penalty kick.
Ben Woodburn scored on a corner kick to cut the team’s deficit, and the away team continued to press for an equaliser, but it was not meant to be.
Relive the action from Tuesday’s Carabao Cup match.
After Wolves failed to win any of their first three Premier League games, head coach Bruno Lage chose a solid starting XI for the team’s fourth match of the season.
They got off to a great start as Jimenez used some deft footwork to get away from his defender and score off of a low centre from Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The goal was Traore’s first for the club since he returned from a loan stint with Barcelona in the second half of the previous season. Traore is a Spain international and has previously played for Barcelona.
Hwang’s penalty kick, which he had the opportunity to put the game out of reach, was poorly taken, and Woodburn, a former player for Liverpool, promptly cut up the deficit for Preston after the break.
After that, it appeared that the EFL team would have a better chance of scoring the following goal; however, Brad Potts could not convert Troy Parrott’s cross into a goal.
On Sunday, the team coached by Lage will take on Newcastle at home searching for their first victory in the Premier League since April 2, when they defeated Aston Villa 2-1. Lage’s team has scored just once in the league this season.
Wolves boss Bruno Lage:
“Raul’s performance during the current season as well as in the preseason made me really pleased. We were not at our best without him in the first three games.
“When it comes to him, we have a reference right from the bat. It was a gracious action on Raul’s part to award the penalty to Hwang, which is something I understand, but it’s not something I agree with. It was Raul’s responsibility to take the punishment.
“It was a very impressive performance. When you come to these games, they come with more incentive in the cup, and in the last five games, Preston has not allowed an opponent to score a goal.”
“To maintain our position in the competition was the primary concern,” you said.
Preston boss Ryan Lowe:
“I’m quite proud. In the second half, we played at a level that was deserving of a goal. In the second half, we made some adjustments.”
“I’m incredibly happy with how they absorbed the lessons and how confident they were that they could compete with those other people. They had more than 150 million dollars’ worth of talent on the field.”
“We had significant opportunities, and although we took advantage of one of them, we still need to keep working hard and doing the appropriate things.”
“They showed us a lot of respect with the squad they picked, and that alone is a huge start in the right path.”