SM
Barcelona vs. Brann: 7 hrs 37 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
WL
Premier League | Gameweek 27
Feb 23, 2020 at 2pm UK
 
NL

3-0

Jota (19', 30'), Jimenez (50')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Nuno Espirito Santo "delighted" with in-form Diogo Jota

:Headline: Nuno Espirito Santo 'delighted' with in-form Diogo Jota: ID:390655: from db_amp
Diogo Jota has scored 14 goals for the season, with Raul Jimenez taking his tally to 21.

Nuno Espirito Santo hailed "clinical" Diogo Jota as Wolves rubbed salt into Norwich's relegation-threatened wounds.

After bagging a hat-trick in Thursday night's crushing 4-0 Europa League win over Espanyol, Portuguese midfielder Jota made it five goals in three days with a double in Wolves' comfortable 3-0 Premier League triumph over the floundering Canaries at Molineux.

The burst has taken Jota's tally to 14 for the season, ending an eight-game drought that had followed another five-goals-in-two-games blast in early December.

Asked whether Jota was back to full confidence, Wolves boss Nuno said: "He is always confident.

"We know a player's performance can go up and down. It's the right decisions, the right solutions we try to find to keep sustaining his performance, not only him, but all the team.

"Of course, I'm delighted with his goals. It's nothing specific. These things happen. His last touch has been clinical, Thursday and today, and hopefully it continues."

Although Wolves were sluggish in the opening 15 minutes, following Jota's opener in the 18th they were the only team in the game, with the 23-year-old adding his second on the half hour.

Jota came within inches of completing his hat-trick in the 50th minute as a rasping drive came back off a post, fortunately rebounding to Raul Jimenez who was able to bundle home his 21st of the campaign from six yards.

The win and fourth-consecutive clean sheet in all competitions means Wolves are within two points of fifth-placed Manchester United.

Explaining the hunger of his squad following what was Wolves' 44th game of the season, Nuno revealed he and his staff are working seven days a week.

"The way they recover, the way they respect themselves, the way the staff dedicates, we don't have days off," revealed Nuno.

"We are always preparing ourselves to compete. This is how we want to compete, and the difficulty is to sustain it, so it requires a lot of hard work, and every day is harder.

"But it's our job. We embrace the challenge, so everybody has to help – everyone."

With Norwich staring at an immediate return to the Championship, boss Daniel Farke has accused his players of being "soft", with his side now going 562 minutes without a goal from open play.

"We started this game well and were on the front foot for 20 minutes, but I wasn't happy with our physicality in the final third," said Farke.

"When you are that dominant at the start of a game, you create so many good situations, you have to reward yourself with scoring a goal.

"But we lost too many offensive duels, and we got our lesson when it went 1-0, more or less with the first time they were in our half."

Despite Norwich remaining seven points adrift of safety, Farke insists he is "not closing the book on this season".

But he needs more from this players, adding: "You have to give your life with each and every duel and I got the feeling that sometimes we were a bit soft and scared.

"We need to be greedy to win the duel, and unbelievably sharp. You need to be convinced and not scared. I think we lacked that and I'm disappointed with that fact."

amp_article__390655 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-02-23 17:56:41:
html db last update - 2021-02-28 09:41:49 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Diogo Jota

Click here for more stories about Norwich City

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds38257670284282
2Leicester CityLeicester37264774334182
3Ipswich TownIpswich38249580493181
4Southampton36227773472673
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom381991059362366
6Norwich CityNorwich381871369541561
7Hull City371610115346758
8Coventry CityCoventry3715121059431657
9Preston North EndPreston37168134954-556
10Middlesbrough38166165352154
11Cardiff CityCardiff38165174351-853
12Sunderland38146184845348
13Watford381212145351248
14Bristol City38138174245-347
15Swansea CitySwansea381210164858-1046
16Millwall381110173650-1443
17Blackburn RoversBlackburn38119185164-1342
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth381011175462-841
19Stoke CityStoke38118193553-1841
20Queens Park RangersQPR381010183650-1440
21Birmingham CityBirmingham38109194259-1739
22Huddersfield TownHuddersfield38815154261-1939
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds38115223061-3138
24Rotherham UnitedRotherham38311243077-4720
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .