Wolverhampton Wanderers were beaten 4-2 by West Ham United at the London Stadium this week. The Championship side conceded four times, with Divin Mukasa scoring twice for the hosts in a performance that piled pressure on Wolves manager Nuno Espírito Santo.
Mukasa opened the scoring with an unstoppable 25-yard strike. He then added a second goal after a clever reverse pass from Jarrod Bowen, with the effort taking a wicked deflection on its way in. Bowen had earlier coolly converted a penalty to make it 2-0. West Ham's fourth goal came from Konstantinos Mavropanos, who scored with a thumping left-foot half-volley from a corner delivered by Arne Engels.
Wolves managed to score twice, with both goals coming from defensive errors by Mavropanos. The West Ham defender was culpable for both concessions after playing some horrendous passes. Wolves' attacking moments were limited, though Fer López forced a comfortable save from Mads Hermansen after four minutes. Joel Piroe, who was caught offside following a Bowen through ball, was replaced after 55 minutes by Taty Castellanos.
Rodrigo Gomes showed flashes of threat, but was tracked well by Max Kilman, who used a smart turn of pace to make an important clearance in one race. Kyle Walker-Peters had a difficult afternoon against the excellent Mané, missing a header which allowed the Wolves attacker to hit the crossbar. Edvin Austbø showed a glimpse of his ability with a nice twist, turn and dribble into the penalty area after coming on.
The midfield was an area where West Ham's surprising inexperience paid off. Alongside the magnificent Mukasa, Arne Engels impressed. Engels produced an excellent early pass down the flank for Solomon and his corner led to the fourth goal. For Wolves, the usual mixture was produced by Mohamadou Kanté after his introduction, while Kieber Lamadrid didn't have a major influence.
West Ham's Ollie Scarles produced an excellent tackle which started a counter-attack, though he survived one particularly nervous moment in front of his own goal. Pablo produced comfortably his best performance in a West Ham shirt, heavily involved in the build-up to the opener and producing a beautiful backheel to send Solomon through.
The defeat highlights squad challenges for Wolves, who are currently without several key players. Kieran Trippier, Rafiki Saïd, and Yerson Mosquera are all currently sidelined with injuries. This absence of experience was felt during a match where West Ham's younger players seized their opportunity.
Mukasa's performance, following his display in a 4-1 Carabao Cup win at Southampton, has created a significant selection dilemma for West Ham manager Nuno. "After impressing during the 4-1 Carabao Cup victory at Southampton, Mukasa has now given Nuno an even bigger selection problem," Divine Mukasa said. "Surely a guaranteed starter now." Before the game, César Peixoto had claimed that "Fer López was better than the West Ham captain."
The result leaves Wolves needing to regroup quickly. Defensive solidity will be a focus after conceding four goals, though they did show they can capitalize on opposition mistakes. Fans can check the team's upcoming schedule on the fixtures page and review the full roster, including injured players, on the squad list. Max Kilman had a very steady performance at the back and almost scored from a first-half corner, a positive note in a difficult match. Konstantinos Mavropanos almost grabbed another goal with a header late on for West Ham.
