Wolves 0 Celta Vigo 1 (Duran 58)
Wolves brought their 2025/26 pre-season preparations to a close at Molineux against Celta Vigo, with the Spanish side running out narrow winners.
Having spent their summer in Portugal, Spain and at home in the West Midlands, Wolves were unable to find the net in their final warm-up fixture, a week before their Premier League campaign gets underway at home to Manchester City, with Pablo Duran’s second half volley claiming victory for the visitors.
In the opening 15 minutes, it was the visitors who were the most threatening, as Wolves’ defence were creating their own trouble with misplaced balls. Agbadou’s poor pass led to a Celta break, and after Ferran Jutgla found space on edge of Old Gold box, his shot was turned around the post by Jose Sa’s fingertips at full stretch.
New signing David Moller Wolfe took a heavy challenge from Javi Rueda inside the Wolves box moments later and needed treatment which led to a lengthy stoppage, but just before the quarter of an hour mark, Lopez went on a great run through the heart of the Celta midfield and defence. Against his former side, the forward squared a pass to fellow summer signing Jhon Arias inside the box who took a touch to create space before lashing an effort straight at Ionut Radu in the visitor’s goal.
After Molineux burst into song on the 18th minute in honour of Diogo Jota, a lapse in concentration at the back allowed Rueda to bare down on goal with just Matt Doherty and Sa in his way, but the Irishman got a block to his shot and deflect the ball behind for a corner. Moments later, Toti had Sa back peddling as his header wrong footed the keeper and almost crossed the goal line, but keeper was able to dive on the ball to keep it out.
Rueda was causing difficulties for Wolfe and Toti down the Celta right and it was his cross to the far post which looked to have created the opening goal as it passed over Sa’s head on its way to Jutgla who was just two yards out from goal, but somehow Doherty was able to put his head in where it hurts to clear the ball away from danger.
Up the other end, Wolves began to show their teeth as the game approached half-time, with Ki-Jana Hoever getting his first opportunity of the afternoon to put in a good cross and his ball was heading towards Jorgen Strand Larsen, but Radu dived off his line to gather at the feet of the Norwegian. Moments later Wolfe curled a cross towards the far post and his fellow countryman but, with his back to goal, Strand Larsen was unable to trouble the keeper with his flicked header.
Half-time | Wolves 0-0 Celta
The second half took a while to get going with both sides trying to create opportunities without really troubling their opposite goalkeepers.
Hoever tried to find a gold shirt inside the visitors’ box, but over hit his cross, before moments later, fresh on as a half-time substitute in place of Wolfe, Hugo Bueno had a chance to stretch his legs down the left for Wolves, but his cross towards Strand Larsen was cut out by former Bournemouth keeper Radu.
But just before the hour mark, as has been the case a few times this pre-season for Wolves, their opposition opened the scoring. Fran Beltran found space midway inside the Old Gold half and after floating a pass to Duran, who get between Agbadou and Doherty, he hit a sweet volley on the turn which Sa got a hand to, but not enough to stop the ball finding its way into the back of the net.
Following their goal, Celta made a raft of substitutions, while Vitor Pereira waited a bit longer before introducing Rodrigo Gomes, Marshall Munetsi and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
In between those changes, Wolves had an opportunity to equalise as Lopez raced away from three challenges before laying a pass into the path of Hoever who cut a cross back towards Arias on the edge of the Wolves box, but the pass was cut out with a sliding challenge, although Andre picked up the rebound and lashed a shot high into the South Bank.
Agbadou almost headed Wolves back level when he met a Bellegarde corner midway through the second period, but Radu got a strong hand to the ball to keep out the header from close range. Bueno picked out Strand Larsen with a cross minutes later, but the striker had a defender with hands all over him so could not get enough purchase on his header.
Celta had a chance to go two ahead moments later after Jones El-Abdellaoui pushed Bueno off as the pair raced towards the Wolves box, and after creating space he could only turn the ball wide of Sa’s post.
Wolves’ substitutes almost combined for an equaliser in the dying moments as Sasa Kalajdzic was played into space behind the sky blue defence, and instead of going for goal himself from a narrow angle, the Austrian tried to cut the ball back for Munetsi but he was crowded out.
Full-time | Wolves 0-1 Celta
Wolves | Sa, Hoever (R Gomes 66), Doherty (Mosquera 79), Agbadou (S Bueno 79), Toti, Wolfe (H Bueno 45), Andre (Hwang 79), J Gomes, Lopez (Munetsi 66), Arias (Bellegarde 66), Strand Larsen (Kalajdzic 79).
Unused subs | Bentley, Johnstone, Lima, Chirewa, Mane.
Celta | Radu, Starfelt, Mingueza, Moriba, Beltran, Jutgla, Aspas, Rueda, Duran, Alonso, Fernandez.
Subs | Villar, Vidal, Carreira, Cervi, D Rodriguez, Zaragoza, Ristic, Sotelo, Alvarez, Dominguez, Roman, Lago, J Rodriguez, El-Abdellaoui.
