Vitor Pereira says when you lose football matches, you must still retain your identity, and that’s what he believes his Wolves side did at Manchester City on Friday.
The Old Gold’s winning run came to an end at the Etihad, but Wolves had chances to score either side of Kevin De Bruyne’s strike and left feeling they deserved something for their efforts.
Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha both struck the upright, and Pereira's side enjoyed a moment of celebration with supporters come full-time, giving an indication of his feelings towards their efforts on the night.
On a positive performance
“I'm not happy with the result, but today I saw everything that the team needs to show. Quality, tactical quality, confidence to play, technical quality, the moments that Manchester City pushed us to defend, OK we defended, suffering together, team spirit, everything, everything.
“He [Bellegarde] is a very good boy, and sometimes it's better to think about ourselves. The pass was too strong, but the intention, and I like to see this in my team, is if another player is in a better position, I will try to assist.
“But in the end, I'm very happy, very proud of my team, very proud of my players, very proud of our supporters. The result was not the result that we wanted. If I asked before the game to put the post out, we score at least two goals.”
On being true to themselves
“I said to my team before the game that we can lose the game, but we cannot lose our identity, cannot lose our spirit, we cannot lose our ambition, and we must show this ambition, these qualities on the pitch.
“I like when my team plays with our work, the work that we do every day, and sometimes we’ve won games, but it was not the best game. I remember at Manchester United, we didn't play in our level, but today it was just missing the result.”
Thank you for all of your support throughout tonight's game.
— Wolves (@Wolves) May 2, 2025
You were superb 👏 pic.twitter.com/tVSZLIV99A
On building confidence for next season
“I want a team that can compete with every team in this league. This is the spirit that I want to create in my team. This is a spirit and mentality that I tried to create and playing good football.”
On Strand Larsen missing
“It was a small injury, not serious, but he tried yesterday. He didn't feel well, and we decided not to risk him. He didn't feel well, and we had a conversation with the medical department, and we decided to not take the risk.
“I liked the first 11, I liked the players from the bench because they showed the spirit and ambition, the commitment, the spirit that I want to see my teams.”
On his moment with the fans
“We have a good connection. We are proud of ourselves, and they must be proud of our work, of the work of the team, the players, because we came here with the mentality to compete. We cannot control the result, because in football, it's impossible to control the results, but we can control our attitude on the pitch, and we can lose a game, but we cannot lose our identity, cannot lose our spirit, we cannot lose our ambition, our mentality, our commitment, the start 11 and the players from the bench, and today, I'm proud, because I watch everything on a pitch.”
