Ruud van Nistelrooy begged the Leicester supporters for mercy after they turned on Danny Ward for the mistakes that handed Wolves victory.
Ward was playing only because first-choice goalkeeper Mads Hermansen is injured. The Wales goalkeeper had struggled during the 2022-23 season, when the Foxes were relegated, and supporters’ patience snapped when his howler allowed Rodrigo Gomes to score Wolves’ second midway through the first half.
‘We understand the disappointment but it shouldn’t be targeted at one player,’ said Van Nistelrooy, whose side missed the chance to pull five points clear of the bottom three. ‘That’s hard for me to see.
‘When people boo you, when they cheer (ironically) if you catch it… it’s hard when it gets personal and he handled it very well. I never thought about taking him off and we hope he can turn it around quickly.’
Perhaps it would have been kinder to substitute Ward because this game was done by the interval. A pathetic defensive display handed Vitor Pereira victory in his first game after replacing Gary O’Neil as Wolves manager, but Ward’s errors for the second and third goals were the snapshot.
It was only Wolves’ third win of the season and takes them to within two points of safety. Given they play Manchester United, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest next, these were vital points, especially as star forward Matheus Cunha faces a ban for his altercation with an Ipswich staff member at Molineux last weekend.
Wolves picked up a huge three points against fellow relegation battlers Leicester
The visiting side moved within two points of safety with a 3-0 victory at the King Power
Foxes goalkeeper Danny Ward had a day to forget as the home side suffered defeat
Wolves face United on Boxing Day and Pereira said: ‘We have to have two plans: one with Cunha and one without. My job is to give the players confidence and a tactical GPS.
‘I’m proud of our work and proud of my players. This performance is what I wanted from them. I believe we will stay up.’
But what about Leicester? This looked the ideal fixture for to put distance between themselves and the bottom three. Instead they blew it completely with a performance that raised all the old questions about their attitude and mental strength. There were swathes of empty blue seats long before full-time and those who did stay jeered.
Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo and Cunha were the scorers and Leicester were culpable for all three. Ward’s error for the second was the worst as he slumped inexplicably to his haunches and watched Rodrigo’s toe-poke slide beyond him.
That was when the fans turned. First came the catcalls and then, even more cruelly, the widespread cheers when Ward performed the bare minimum expected of a professional goalkeeper. Hermansen has been Leicester’s best player this term and Van Nistelrooy desperately needs him back from a hip problem. Either way, it is hard to see Ward keeping his place at Liverpool on Boxing Day.
Not even Jamie Vardy could pull this one round though he might have put the home side ahead in the eighth minute. Bilal El Khannouss’ pass from deep caught Wolves napping and Vardy outpaced Santi Bueno but failed to lob Jose Sa, who had raced from his penalty area to narrow the angle.
Sa’s gamble had paid off and he did well to block the follow-up from Jordan Ayew. Luckily for Wolves, Leicester’s defence is just as flimsy, as the visitors’ opener proved.
A simple header would have dealt with Nelson Semedo’s long pass. For some reason, Jannik Vestergaard – never deemed good enough by former boss Steve Cooper – decided not to jump and when the ball passed over his head, Guedes hooked it beyond Ward.
The result saw new Wolves boss Vitor Pereira pick up three points in his first game in charge
Goncalo Guedes (right) opened the scoring for Wolves just 19 minutes into the game
Rodrigo Gomes then doubled the lead towards the latter stages of the first half
Matheus Cunha added a third to put any hopes of a comeback for the home side to bed
The home side’s efforts to equalise were quickly ruined by the sort of defending that would embarrass veteran pub players after a heavy night.
It was bad enough that James Justin should let Matt Doherty’s crossfield pass run across him, unaware that Rodrigo was lurking. Imperfect though Rodrigo’s control was, it was sufficient to baffle Ward, who bizarrely sank to the ground as the ball slid towards him. A mere prod from Rodrigo’s toe was enough to send the ball rolling into the net.
Wolves fans had been chanting against chairman Jeff Shi and now Leicester fans followed with choruses of their own, aimed at director of football Jon Rudkin. Toti Gomes cleared off the line from Vardy not long before Wolves made it three.
Under no pressure, Guedes collected another lofted pass from Semedo and found Cunha. With Ward’s confidence shattered, all Cunha needed to do was find the target and Wolves were three up.
Van Nistelrooy might have been tempted to send on Daniel Iversen but Ward stayed on and was still derided by his own supporters. Four changes had been made by the 54th minute and Foxes supporters cheered when Justin was replaced at right-back by Hamza Choudhury – a central midfielder. Van Nistelrooy’s arrival in place of Cooper gave Leicester a shot of enthusiasm but it never takes long for the mood to turn ugly here.
