Diogo Jota hat-trick gives Wolves win over Leicester in seven-goal thriller
Re-live the action from Saturday's early Premier League kick-off
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Your support makes all the difference.Wolverhampton Wanderers may have feared the worst when their 2-0 first-half lead turned into 2-2 after the break as Leicester City came back into the game, but, in a thrilling game, the home side had the final laugh, winning 4-3.
The Premier League match’s most spectacular moment, from a wide selection, was reserved for Diogo Jota when he scored his third goal and won the game in the 93rd after Leicester had brought it back to 3-3 with minutes to spare through Wes Morgan.
Claude Puel’s job has been under increasing pressure and Morgan’s 87th minute header to seemingly salvage a point may have offered him some respite from difficult questions, but Wolves’ ability to calve open their visitors for a fourth time late in the game will certainly drag his future back into the spotlight.
Re-live the thrilling match in the blog below:
What time does it start?
Wolves vs Leicester City kicks off at 12:30pm (GMT) on Saturday 19th January.
Where can I watch it?
Wolves vs Leicester City will be shown live on Sky Sports’ Main Event and Premier League channels from 11:30am (GMT).
Sky subscribers can stream the match online via the Sky Go app.
Highlights will be shown at 10:20pm on BBC One.
Player to watch…
Ruben Neves: The 21-year-old has been a standout performer in Wolves’ midfield this season. Neves, who has nine international caps for Portugal, scored a trademark long-range winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup, and his partnership with compatriot Joao Moutinho has been a driving force in Wolves’ excellent season.
Form guide…
Wolves: LDWLWL
Leicester City: WWLWLL
Odds…
Wolves to win: 13/10
Leicester to win: 49/20
Draw: 43/20
(Odds provided by 888 Sport)
43 minutes
Wolves win another corner, with Ruben Vinagre to take from the right with his left foot.
It is an awful corner, but Leicester hack the clearance only as far as Ruben Neves, who can't replicate his earlier effort, scuffing low into Leicester legs.
44 minutes
Ryan Bennett is left on an island with Jamie Vardy as Joao Moutinho strains to recover and assist him, blocking Vardy's path and earning a caution from the referee.
45 minutes
Nasty from Ricardo Pereira!
Diogo Jota latches on to the clearance from the free kick and bashes Nampalys Mendy out of the way, and Pereira is a tad fortunate that his rather reckless slash at the ball sliding back receives only yellow rather than red.
45 + 1 minute
There are two added minutes at the end of the half, and we tick over the 46 minute mark as Danny Simpson's strong challenge in the air is deemed legal despite the protests from the home crowd for a penalty.
45 + 2 minutes
Danny Simpson has absolutely bought a booking for Diogo Jota, staying down for a long while until Chris Kavanagh books Jota, who did nothing wrong as Simpson followed through into his thigh after lifting the ball across the pitch.
Jota is furious, and rightly so.
But that is all for the half at Molineux. A game of frenzied pace and plenty of action, there could have been plenty more than the two goals seen in a frantic 45 minutes. Wolves 2-0 Leicester.
A crazy half.
Leicester were open throughout, and an early Demarai Gray giveaway put them on the back foot, Diogo Jota timing his run superbly to meet Joao Moutinho's cross on the volley.
They reacted well and had their chances in a flurried first fifteen minutes, but Wolves doubled their lead in the same period, with Ryan Bennett climbing over Harry Maguire to head home the second, Moutinho again the provider with a lovely floated corner.
Leicester threatened at the other end as the half wore on, but looked so vulnerable every time Wolves dispossessed them as both teams gave the ball away at will.
It has been open and entertaining thus far, and this one is far from over.
A suitably exasperated Claude Puel. Will he be considering a half-time change?
He will not. No changes to either side as the second half begins.
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