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10 hours ago
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Raúl Jiménez marked his return to Wolves with the stoppage-time equaliser that saved them from an embarrassing start to their return to the Championship. The Mexico striker, who scored against England during the World Cup, came off the bench to convert a penalty given for handball by Ryan Alebiosu that would have had VAR questioning whether the defender was in the area when Jackson Tchatchoua’s cross struck his arm.
One minor consolation from Wolves’ relegation is that the video assistant referee is no longer their problem. Jiménez, who had bought scarves for all supporters in the South Bank in gratitude for their welcome home, tucked away his first goal in this second spell for the club he graced during their recent heyday before leaving for Fulham.
“He’s an important striker,” César Peixoto, Wolves’ new head coach said. “He lives for scoring and making goals. Raúl is a key player for us. He helped the team inside and outside the pitch but we have to go slowly with him because he is 35 years old and comes back from the World Cup. We want him to stay good and scoring for us is good for him and for the team.”
Goals from Sean McLoughlin and Andri Gudjohnsen allowed Blackburn to provide Wolves with a reality check after Marshall Munetsi had scored early. Confidence is a fragile commodity and, after their decision to replace Rob Edwards with a manager with no experience of English football, the Wolves board know that their supporters’ patience is thin. Leading Gil Vicente to sixth place in the Portuguese first division does not make Peixoto a guaranteed winner.
Conceding the equaliser, through Jiménez’s first goal for Wolves in 1,311 days, denied unfancied Blackburn a deserved victory after Wolves lost their shape. Tony Mowbray, their head coach, felt the penalty decision was harsh. “I’ve just been shown an angle by my analyst where he [Alebiosu] is outside the box; another angle I’m told shows he’s just inside the box. I just felt like more and more decisions were starting to sway their way,” the former West Brom manager said. “It’s harsh to take because I don’t think they deserved that second goal.”
Molineux was awash with fading golden sunlight and rising optimism at kick-off. A summer that started with such a surprising managerial departure was promising to end with renewed faith in the team’s direction of travel, until Peixoto’s admired high press came unstuck as his team started to “play with their hearts more than their heads”.
The Blackburn defence had split generously to allow Munetsi a clean run through on to Fer López’s sumptuous pass. The left-footed finish from the Zimbabwean, himself coming back to Molineux after a loan at Paris FC, strengthened the feelgood factor.
Peixoto’s tactics do currently lead to gaps on transition. Blackburn, who have not done so much in the transfer market to suggest they should aim higher than last season’s 20th place, got behind Wolves on several occasions. It was no great surprise when, from Ryoya Morishita’s superb right-wing cross, McLoughlin headed beyond Dan Bentley to equalise.
Some of Wolves’ best business this summer has been bringing players back to Molineux. While Jiménez started the night on the bench, after a late start to pre-season following his impressive World Cup for Mexico, López was the classiest player on view. Back from a loan at Celta Vigo, he has been invited to make the No 10 position his own, and the Spaniard nearly regained Wolves the lead only to curl his shot wide.
Blackburn continued to benefit from Wolves’ soft centre however. Oladapo Afolayan’s shot needed tipping over by Bentley before the right winger again got space down Wolves’ left – where David Møller Wolfe, in for the injured Hugo Bueno, showed he is still not match fit after his World Cup endeavours with Norway – to cross for Gudjohnsen to turn in Rovers’ second goal. “The team lost some organisation and played with their heart rather than their head and brains,” Peixoto said. “It’s a lesson for us in the future, we need to stay with mental stability for the 90 minutes.”
By the hour mark, the South Bank were swirling their Jiménez scarves above their heads and chanting “Si Señor” in honour of the veteran striker who was such an esteemed figure at Molineux for five of the club’s best years in modern times. Before his horrific head injury, he was the pivotal attacking player as Nuno Espírito Santo’s team reached the later stages of the FA Cup and Europa League. The scene was set for the Mexican. Could he deliver? Si, señor.
