Lucas Ocampos scores late winner to end Wolves' Europa League run
Wolves’ epic season reached an agonising end as Lucas Ocampos headed a goal two minutes from time to send Sevilla into a Europa League semi-final against Manchester United. There can be no begrudging the Spaniards their progress on the balance of play in this quarter-final, but Wolves’ pain was deepened by the knowledge that things might have panned out very differently if Raúl Jiménez had not had a penalty saved early on – or if the referee, or VAR, had spotted encroachment by Sevilla’s Diego Carlos and ordered a retake.
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Sevilla, the definitive specialists in this tournament, took charge after that let-off but Wolves survived their best efforts and clung to the hope of landing a decisive blow on the counterattack until Ocampos finally exploded their resistance, glancing in a header following a sumptuous inswinging cross from Éver Banega.
It was a shattering way for Wolves to end their 59th match of an exceptionally challenging season and their first European quarter-final since 1972. But when time smooths the rawness of this defeat, Nuno Espírito Santo and his squad can reflect with pride on the feats that took them this far. This Europa League campaign began in July 2019 but, in a deeper sense, it started with the appointment of Nuno in May 2017. Wolves had just finished 15th in the Championship before the Portuguese manager’s arrival, squashed glumly between Barnsley and Ipswich Town. Nuno built an identity that has earned promotion, two top-half finishes in the Premier League and rousing victories on the continent before this honourable defeat to the Europa League’s most decorated club.
Although tinged with controversy owing to the failure to punish Carlos for entering the box before Jiménez took his penalty, this was a convincing victory for Sevilla, who are likely make Manchester United’s defence strain at least as hard as Wolves’ had to here.
Yet things started brightly for Nuno’s side – or, in one sense, not quite as brightly as feared, since the clouds covering Duisburg meant the temperature was much cooler than forecast. Before kick-off Conor Coady’s rallying call could be heard loud and clear in the almost empty arena. “Let’s do what we do!” hollered the Wolves captain. Thirty-seven seconds later Adama Traoré and Jiménez did exactly that, combining with charmingly familiar menace, except that the striker’s header from Traoré’s cross was close enough to the goalkeeper to permit a save.
Nuno’s tactics gave Traoré the freedom to roam where he pleased as a part of a front two. In the 11th minute Traoré gave an awesome demonstration of his threat, collecting the ball inside his own half before turning and sprinting into the opposing box, where Carlos chopped him down in desperation.
The defender escaped with a yellow card and his crime paid off when Yassine Bounou read Jiménez’s weak penalty and made a comfortable save. The sense of injustice deepened when replays suggested Carlos strayed into the area illegally, although apparently that is not how the Italian official on VAR duty saw it.
Three minutes later Rui Patrício had to intervene for the first time to deny Suso. It would turn out to be a very busy night for the Wolves goalkeeper as Sevilla started to enjoy the lion’s share of possession. Wolves scrambled hard to keep them at bay.
Wolves were grateful to see Youssef En-Nesyri pull a shot wide from 15 yards after Suso opened them up in the 27th minute. As Sevilla found an ominous groove – all zippy passing and nifty movement -Ocampos went close to opening the scoring, curling just wide. Wolves battened down the hatches and hoped to eke out at least one more chance for Traoré to storm forward on the counter. None came and Traoré was eventually replaced.
Wolves tend to be stronger in the second half but Sevilla never relented enough here to allow Nuno’s side to fight back. Romain Saïss’s booking on 48 minutes for clunking into Suso seemed a symptom of Wolves’ growing discomfort.
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Saïss found himself in more difficulty when Ocampos made a run into the box on his blind side to collect a canny pass and pull the ball back to Jordan, forcing Leander Dendoncker to make a critical block. Two minutes later Patrício had to stop En-Nesyri after the striker bounded past three defenders through willpower as much as skill. Then Wolves were reprieved by Jules Koundé, who headed wide from close range after a cross by Suso.
With 20 minutes to go Nuno tried to turn the tables. He introduced Pedro Neto for João Moutinho and switched to a three-pronged attack. But Sevilla kept coming and would have scored through a free-kick by Ocampos if not for another save by Patrício. Still Wolves hung on, with Coady bawling reminders that just one more chance might be enough for them to prevail. Instead, Sevilla finally converted one of their opportunities, Ocampos breaking the deadlock and Wolves’ hearts.
