Wolves 0-0 Leicester | Match report

Wolves 0 Leicester City 0

VAR took centre stage yet again at Molineux, as Wolves were forced to settled for a point due to the finest of margins. On the stroke of half-time, Willy Boly’s header had Molineux celebrating, but they were muted when VAR adjudged Pedro Neto to have been offside by the finest of margins.

The decision was a tough pill to swallow for the hosts, who couldn’t force a way through after that. Raul Jimenez inevitably tried, but his header at the death, which dropped agonisingly wide, drew the curtain on an evening where Leicester finished with ten men following Hamza Choudhury’s dismissal.

Leicester settled the better into the contest and registered the first shot when Youri Tielemans tested Rui Patricio early on, but the Portuguese was equal to it. That kicked Wolves into gear, particularly Neto, whose surging run was followed by a fine pass to Diogo Jota, who shot at the legs of Kasper Schmeichel, before Boly headed the following corner into the stopper’s hands.

Leander Dendoncker, restored for the starting eleven, headed the next opening wide from another floated Neto corner, while at the other end Caglar Soyuncu at least got his header on target, but Patricio made the save as the exciting opening half continued.

Chances were coming and going, but none clear-cut. Next, Jonny headed over from around the penalty spot, following Matt Doherty’s cross. Then, five minutes before the break, Wolves passed up two fine chances to take the lead. First, Neto capitalised on a sloppy Schmeichel pass but sliced wide, before Jimenez mistimed his jump to meet a Jonny cross and missed the target.

A goal had been coming for the hosts and they thought it had arrived on the stroke of half-time, but yet more VAR controversy against Leicester saw it chalked off. Neto received his short corner back from Jota, squared for Doherty to set up Boly to head home, however, the corner taker was adjudged to have been a matter of millimetres offside when receiving the backward ball and VAR intervened, not for the first time, against Wolves.

Half-time: Wolves 0 Leicester 0

After the break, Ricardo Pereira slashed an effort wide, and it wasn’t long until Nuno Espirito Santo released Adama Traore, as he took the place of Neto. That change helped Wolves up the intensity, but Romain Saiss smashed a well-placed free-kick into the Foxes wall.

With 15 minutes to go, Hamza Choudhury was robbed of possession by Dendoncker and instantly tripped the Belgian, when already on a yellow card, meaning Mike Dean had little option but to dismiss the midfielder. Daniel Podence followed moments later for his home debut, replacing Jota.

Traore’s influence was expected and when he clipped a cross on to the head of Jimenez, the Mexican will have been disappointed to direct his effort over the bar. The final throw of the dice followed, as Joao Moutinho slotted into the midfield for the closing stages and dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box.

Seconds before the board for added time went up, Wolves wasted arguably the chance of the game. Moutinho’s corner found Jimenez completely unmarked eight yards from goal, but the forward planted his effort just wide of the post, with Schmeichel stranded.

Full-time: Wolves 0 Leicester City 0

Wolves: Patricio, Doherty, Boly, Coady, Saiss, Jonny, Neves (Moutinho 82), Dendoncker, Neto (Traore 64), Jota (Podence 78), Jimenez.

Unused subs: Ruddy, Kilman, Buur, Gibbs-White.

Leicester: Schmeichel, Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell, Choudhury, Perez (Albrighton 68), Tielemans (Praet 75), Maddison, Barnes (Morgan 90), Vardy.

Unused subs: Ward, Justin, Gray, Iheanacho.

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