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Diogo Jota comes off bench to grab rapid hat-trick as Wolves rout Besiktas


Diogo Jota ensured Wolves finished their group campaign in style, springing from the bench to plunder a hat-trick in 12 minutes. Leander Dendoncker also found the net as Nuno Espírito Santo’s men blew away Besiktas with a powerful second-half performance.

Wolves’ ability to play like this even without several regular starters is one of the reasons why they can be confident of advancing further in this competition no matter whom they are pitted against in Monday’s draw for the knockout stages.

Having already accomplished their mission by guaranteeing their presence in the last 32, Wolves apparently did not feel obliged to go full tilt in this, their 30th match of the season so far even though top spot in the group was notionally up for grabs. They literally warmed up for the game in Marbella, where they spent three days training and resting after last weekend’s Premier League draw with Brighton, and then did not deploy their full armoury on their return, with a fleet of key players given the day off.

This, though, was not like the shadow side that Nuno sent out when practically sacrificing the Carabao Cup in late October. There was still a smattering of stalwarts here, such as João Moutinho, Conor Coady and Rúben Neves. But the bench was stocked with teenage rookies while 21-year-old Oskar Buur began at right wing-back. It was the Dane’s first appearance for the senior team since scoring on his debut for them against Hull in April 2018. So while the team sheet offered a glimpse of Wolves’ future, it also served as a reminder of how far the club has come in a short space of time.

The visitors, already eliminated from the competition, also shuffled their hand, making 10 changes to the lineup that started their last domestic match. The match may not have been a priority for either club but players have their pride and, without straining themselves unduly, they seemed eager to impress, especially with Molineux close to capacity. John Ruddy, starting in goal in place of the rested Rui Patrício, got a chance to demonstrate his concentration levels in the second minute by holding a decent effort from 20 yards by Tyler Boyd.

Wolves might have made a breakthrough moments later when Patrick Cutrone ran on to a raking long pass by Max Kilman and tried to feed Pedro Neto, but Necip Uysal neutralised that possibility with a timely interception. Wolves soon settled into a rhythm – not as smooth as usual, but certainly more progressive than that of their relatively disjointed opponents. Moutinho and Neves as influential as ever in midfield, where Dendoncker seemed to relish being back alongside them after several weeks in central defence.

Neither side, however, managed to summon enough ingenuity to create clear openings so there was a ripple of excitement in the 41st minute when the ball broke to Neves at the edge of the visitors’ area. Unfortunately, unless Neves’s effort was intended to bring a duffle-coated man at the back of the lower tier into play, the shot was an embarrassment.

The news at half-time was that group leaders Braga were being held at Slovan Bratislava, meaning that there was a real prospect of Wolves leapfrogging them by winning. Would that electrify them for the second period? You bet. But the real spark came in the 56th minute, when Jota sprang from the bench. Two minutes later he broke the deadlock.

It was a beautiful goal, with Jota’s plunging header from beyond the far post crowning an attack featuring a delicious flick by Cutrone and a lovely cross by Neto.

Dendoncker nearly doubled the lead when a corner found him free in front of goal but his reflex shot from seven yards struck a post. Moments later Dendoncker had a shot from much farther out pushed on to the other post by the visiting goalkeeper. Jota reacted faster than any defender to convert the rebound. Dendoncker refused to be denied, finally adding his name to scoresheet with a fine header from a corner. Jota completed his hat-trick from close range two minutes later thanks to a cross from Buur.



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