Lopez’s Wolves Revival Shines with Strong Performance

Lopez arrived back at Wolves this season with questions hanging over him. Last year he stuttered, lost his place and ended up back on loan at his former club to finish the campaign. This time he looks determined to write a different story.

He has already scored in the League Cup in old gold this month. Here, he went up a level.

The breakthrough came from nothing and everything at once: space, pace and pure confidence. Lopez isolated Preston defender Liam Lindsay, knocked the ball past him and simply burned away, leaving Lindsay trailing. He drove all the way into the box and, without breaking stride, smashed a powerful finish beyond Daniel Iversen. One moment of direct running, one ruthless strike. Wolves were in front and their once-fragile forward looked transformed.

The visitors almost made it two within minutes, and it was another familiar face threatening to twist the knife. Raul Jimenez, back for a second spell at the club, ghosted into position and met a low ball with a clever flick from close range. Iversen was beaten, but the Mexican’s effort shaved the wrong side of the post. A whisker away from a goal that would have underlined his own return to old surroundings.

That miss jolted the home side. They had started slowly, second to loose balls and short of ideas, but a spell of pressure finally arrived. Callum Lang seized on a chance and his effort seemed destined for the net, only for Marshall Munetsi to read it and retreat to his line. He met the ball with a crucial header, clearing from under the bar and keeping Wolves in control at a moment when the game threatened to tilt.

Just before the interval, Wolves reminded everyone where the greater threat still lay. Rodrigo Gomes picked up possession on the edge of the area and drilled a low strike that looked set to sneak inside the post. Iversen flung himself across his goal and, at full stretch, managed to get a strong hand to it. A big save, and a warning that the visitors could cut through again at any time.

The match emerged from half-time finely balanced. Both managers turned to their benches, sensing the contest sat at a crossroads. The changes broke the rhythm for a spell, the game drifting into a scrappy midfield battle, until Wolves found another gear.

The pressure told on 71 minutes. Substitute Armstrong, sharp and direct, linked up neatly with Jimenez on the edge of the box. A slick one-two sliced through the defence and released Armstrong inside the area. He needed only one touch to steady himself before slotting home to double the lead. The finish was calm; the move, anything but casual. Wolves suddenly had daylight.

With the hosts stretched and chasing, gaps opened everywhere. Lopez, already brimming with confidence from his opener, stepped into that space with purpose. Eight minutes from time, another flowing Wolves move ended at his feet on the edge of the box. He set himself and drove a precise strike into the corner, doubling his tally and effectively killing the contest. From a player who struggled to find his place last season, this was the performance of a man playing with clarity and conviction.

The home side refused to disappear quietly. Thompson produced a smart finish late on, guiding the ball home to pull it back to 3-1 and at least give the scoreline a touch of respectability. The damage, though, had long since been done.

Lopez’s resurgence, Jimenez’s hints of a second-act impact, and Armstrong’s clinical cameo all point in one direction: if Wolves can bottle this edge away from home, how far can this retooled side push the rest of the season?