Not just Cunha: Pereira has turned £25k-p/w Wolves star into a monster

Wolverhampton Wanderers have picked up two wins and two clean sheets on the bounce in all competitions after a polished 2-0 win away over Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup.

The Championship hosts did have a goal dubiously ruled out for offside early on, but once the Old Gold took the lead courtesy of a Joao Gomes strike trickling in just after the half-an-hour mark, the victory ended up being rather routine to collect.

In fact, it would be only moments after Gomes’ opener that Wolves would have their game-clinching second, with Matheus Cunha showing off his Premier League class with an emphatic finish on another standout day at the office from the Brazilian.

Matheus Cunha’s performance in numbers

From that point onwards, it was relatively straightforward for the top-flight outfit to secure their passage through to the next round of the esteemed competition, but Cunha would still be on the hunt for more goals.

Across the course of the 90 minutes, the ex-Atletico Madrid attacker would spurn two big chances as a constant livewire for his side, which included one fantastic solo run in the second half that was unfortunately not finished off.

But, nobody could take the priceless effort away from him come the full-time whistle, with Cunha also a brave battler for his team in a game that was played at a fast pace, resulting in an impressive nine ground duels being won.

Indeed, Blackburn did have brief moments in the contest where they could have gained a momentary foothold and mounted a comeback, only to be met by a stern Wolves defender standing firm time after time.

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The Wolves star who was as good as Cunha

Whilst Cunha’s star quality certainly helped his team get over the line at Ewood Park, there were occasions in the contest where Wolves needed to remain staunch at the back to ensure John Eustace’s men didn’t win a goal back.

That’s where Toti Gomes thankfully came to the rescue for Vitor Pereira‘s visitors, with the two-time Portugal international managing to impressively win seven out of eight duels on the day among other glowing defensive numbers.

Looking at his numbers in depth from the win in Lancashire, it was an extremely well-rounded display from the defensive titan, with his ability on the ball there for all to see with his 93% pass accuracy and 100% successful dribble completion rate come full-time, on top of his hefty combined total of seven clearances, interceptions and tackles.

This isn’t a one-off from the 26-year-old either, with six duels also won last time out in the Premier League when Wolves picked up another 2-0 victory versus Aston Villa, before showing off his defensive prowess once more against the Riversiders. In fact, he’s been really rather good since Pereira came in with the defender keeping four clean sheets in a row since he was introduced into the starting lineup.

The £25k-per-week centre-back will hope he can keep his first-team spot as more and more league fixtures come his relegation-threatened side’s way this February, with this showing on the road against Blackburn more than helping his cause.

Since Pereira’s arrival into the building, the Portuguese manager has managed to strike a finer balance between exciting attacking displays and dogged defensive showings than his predecessor in Gary O’Neil, with Cunha still at the peak of his powers whilst stars at the back such as Gomes come to the surface.

Only time will tell if enough of these displays will keep Wolves up in the Premier League, with Pereira’s side needing all the luck they can get when travelling to table-topping Liverpool up next.

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