In the 8th round of the English Premier League match on Sunday night, Wolves lost 1-2 to Manchester City at home. After the match, Wolves manager Gary O'Neil was interviewed and gave an in-depth analysis and review of the match.
Team Performance and Luck
O'Neill said, "City's players kept the pressure on us but we always found a way of dealing with it. We conceded a controversial goal late in the game and it was quite a surprise equalizer goal from the other team, it was Gwadior who cut inside with his poor foot and slotted the ball into the top corner of the goal. It may be true that things happened against us today, but we have to take the positives out of it. We gave an excellent performance for a long time against one of the strongest teams today and there were a lot of positives from this game."
Locker Room Atmosphere
Everyone was emotionally drained because we put in a lot of hard work, prepared well and those preparations were very successful, but in the end it was just a story of bad luck that was left behind," he revealed. Against Brentford
I was very hard on them in the locker room after the game because we were on our own at the time. And today was much closer to what we need to look like, and we've played well many times this year, but the schedule we faced was just brutal."
Tough schedule and team confidence
O'Neill emphasized, "Away games in the Premier League are really tough and with our home games against Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle, it's probably the toughest start to the season. But that's no excuse, we need to keep going. If these games were spread out, the results might not look so bad. We need to make sure we continue to show our best form and the team will get better and will get enough points to have a successful season."
Team Goals and Defense
He mentioned, "The goal was great, the players defended for a long time and it was difficult to rush out, but they showed their true strength in the key moments. They gave everything and showed their true colors. Look at Brentford two weeks ago.
There's a big difference between that and today's performance, the way they executed the game plan and stuck to the formation, and we need to make sure performances like that happen more often."
VAR Determination and Refereeing
On VAR ruling Stones' goal valid, O'Neill said, "I know B was very close to the goalkeeper and there's always the possibility that a goal like that could be ruled out. But the referee will make the decision and we have to respect it and move on. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do about it."
Goalkeeper performance and fan support
He praised the performance of José Sa: "Choosing a goalkeeper is not a difficult task, Johnstone was injured today, but José Sa has been well prepared and has done a great job." He also thanked the fans for their support, "They understand the situation of the team, the transfers we have made this summer and what we are trying to do with young players. I'm responsible for everything, the goal at the end, we can blame the referee or me, but I'll reflect on myself first."
Looking ahead, O'Neill said the team will continue to work hard and prepare for the upcoming matches to get more points and have a successful season.
