If this proves to be a tale of two departing star strikers, Matheus Cunha eclipsed Jamie Vardy with as much comfort as Wolves have breezed past Leicester in this game and over the past five months.
Manchester United target Cunha scored the first goal and made the others for Jørgen Strand Larsen and Rodrigo Gomes while Vardy, having announced he will leave Leicester at the end of this tumultuous season, had his penalty saved by José Sá.
It was a contrast that exemplified the teams’ fortunes since changing managers before Christmas, when Leicester were two points clear of Wolves despite losing the return fixture by the same scoreline in Vítor Pereira’s first game in charge. Wolves have accrued 32 points in 18 games; Leicester have gained four points in this period, losing 17 of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s past 19 games, to seal a humiliating return to the Championship.
“Six in a row,” chanted the South Bank as Wolves continued their best top-flight winning sequence since 1970. Their chance to make it seven – which they have only managed once in their entire top-flight history, in 1946 – comes at Manchester City on Friday. “First the points, then the pints,” sang the fans. “Vítor Pereira, we’ll see you in ‘Spoons.” The manager will be bought a pint in whichever pub he enters in Wolverhampton this summer.
By then, Cunha’s future will surely be sealed as United have reportedly agreed to pay the £62.5million asking price stipulated in the Brazilian’s new contract signed in February. “He’s a special player,” Pereira said. “He’s committed to his teammates and the football club to do the best we can in the rest of this season.
“I don’t have a crystal ball. I can say he is committed to us now and I am happy.”
Cunha scored the opener 12 minutes before the interval, a fine goal epitomising his finely tuned partnership with Rayan Aït-Nouri.
Cunha has done his bit to help extend Wolves’ Premier League status by at least another season, but his maverick, almost sepia-tinted, approach to the game – he spends a higher proportion of his game time walking (77%) than any other player in the Premier League – makes him a rare luxury player. His body language is mixed, and his pressing negligible. Therefore he needs to weigh in with the marvellous goals, assists and creativity that helped seal this game.
He had already run from deep in his own first half to send one shot just wide, as Leicester backed off meekly, and had another effort saved as Wolves sensed an easy kill.
His goal was a beauty. Cunha collected the ball from Toti just inside the Leicester half, played it out wide and received the return from Aït-Nouri, who ran on to the striker’s perfectly weighted ball towards the corner flag. Aït-Nouri had time to control the ball, come inside and wait for his team-mate to take the position just outside the six-yard box from where the cross was turned in.
That was his 17th goal of the season, all but two coming in the Premier League, and shows why he feels he deserves to be playing for an elite club.
Strand Larsen missed from two yards out before mocking himself moments later when making it 2-0, getting on the end of Cunha’s superb angled pass before sliding home his shot for his 13th goal of the season, and sixth his past six games.
Vardy earned then spurned his penalty midway through the second half at 2-0. With 198 goals from 497 games for Leicester, the former non-league and England striker looked set to stagger towards his double century as he ran onto Bilal El-Khannouss’s pass and rounded Sá while dangling a leg. But the keeper got sharply down to Vardy’s spot-kick to complete Leicester’s miserable day.
Van Nistelrooy, his own future far from certain, has called upon his players to provide Vardy with a fitting send-off to his stellar career with the club. Perhaps this new incentive can act as a lightning rod for the final four games, with Southampton next up. “There is a lot to play for, like Jamie’s last games,” the manager said. “Supporting our captain should be motivation enough alone to push out everything that’s left. I really wanted him to score to get us back in the game but also for himself. That summed the game up.”
Cunha again broke away down the left to slide in another superb pass for Rodrigo to round off Wolves’ victory.