Football

Espanyol 3 Wolves 2: Watch Pedro Neto’s worst miss of all time contender as Nuno’s men reach last-16 despite loss


PEDRO NETO produced one of the worst misses of all time but Wolves still progressed into the last-16 of the Europa League.

The Portuguese winger rounded Espanyol keeper Andres Prieto and ran clean through on goal… only to somehow put it wide.

 Pedro Neto somehow missed after rounding the Espanyol goalkeeper

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Pedro Neto somehow missed after rounding the Espanyol goalkeeperCredit: BT Sport
 Wolves star Neto produced one of the worst misses of all time as Nuno's men lost in Spain

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Wolves star Neto produced one of the worst misses of all time as Nuno’s men lost in SpainCredit: BT Sport

It was so bad, bookies Paddy Power even paid out on Neto as a goalscorer!

Fortunately for the 19-year-old, it did not matter, as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side cruised through on aggregate despite a 3-2 loss on the night.

And the damage came from an unlikely source in former West Ham flop Jonathan Calleri.

The Argentinian hit a hat-trick on the night, after only bagging one goal in 19 appearances for the Hammers.

But Nuno’s team scored pretty much every time they needed to here in Barcelona, having already done the hard lifting in the first-leg at Molineux.

History told us Espanyol needn’t have bothered turning up following their 4-0 mauling at Molineux last Thursday.

Since the Uefa Cup/Europa League came into existence in 1971, there have been 221 occasions of a side losing a first leg by four or more goals.

In total, only TWO clubs have pulled off the miracle of turning disaster into success to make it through to the next round – FK Partizan v QPR in 1984-85 and Real Madrid v Borussia Monchengladbach in 1985-86.

However if La Liga’s rock-bottom club wanted a straw to clutch they might have noted Wolves’ only previous match against Spanish opponents came on a previous visit to Barcelona in 1960 – when they were thumped 4-0 in the Nou Camp!

Spooky or what?

Certainly a shiver must have run down Nuno Espirito Santo’s spine when his side conceded a goal in virtually Espanyol’s first attack of any note after just 16 minutes.

He had felt confident enough to make five changes with one eye on Sunday’s trip to Spurs, including a first start for new £16.9million striker Daniel Podence, who arrived from Olympiakos last month.

So perhaps it wasn’t surprising the visitors were caught cold on a blustery night in Barcelona.

 Neto looked like her wanted the ground to swallow him up after the miss

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Neto looked like her wanted the ground to swallow him up after the missCredit: Reuters

The Catalans, who had made eight changes themselves, played a bit of keep-ball on the left before springing Adria Pedrosa on the left.

His low cross was begging to be buried as it sped across the Wolves goal and former West Ham flop Jonathan Calleri obliged, ramming the ball high beyond Rui Patricio from seven yards.

That goal equalled the Argentine attacker’s entire tally following 19 instantly forgettable appearances for the Hammers.

As it turned out Espanyol’s hopes of pulling off a sensational comeback were over before they had really begun – snuffed out by the last man the Catalans wanted to score.

But as so many others have discovered before them, Adama Traore is harder to defend than a leaky house built on a floodplain.

 West Ham flop Jonathan Calleri scored a hat-trick as Espanyol beat Wolves

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West Ham flop Jonathan Calleri scored a hat-trick as Espanyol beat WolvesCredit: Reuters

The local boy, reared a few avenidas away at Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy, was back on home soil and revelled in reminding Espanyol this was HIS turf.

He rampaged around and generally rag-dolled Barca’s city rivals until they were sick of him.

His mood wasn’t helped early on when he picked up a harsh booking after his flailing arm caught Fernando Callero in the face.

That looked a harsh decision but Traore didn’t have long to wait to take retribution.

Just six minutes after Espanyol’s opener he clinically killed their hopes off by grabbing Wolves the banker away goal they wanted to make this tie the formality it had always appeared.

Podence cut the ball back to Traore, whose his first effort was blocked by Calero. Unfortunately for the defender, the break of the ball was in Traore’s favour.

He spun round and fired in a low shot which Adres Prieto touched but couldn’t prevent from rolling into the it bounces back into the far corner of his net.

It was the perfect way for Traore to mark his return to his hometown. However his equaliser sucked what little, if any, life there was left in this ‘contest.’

 Adama Traore netted for the Prem side who went through after winning the first-leg 4-0

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Adama Traore netted for the Prem side who went through after winning the first-leg 4-0Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Espanyol skipper Victor Sanchez, who had been having a running battle with the Wolves warrior earned a booking for wiping Traore out during yet another surge from the speedy Spaniard.

More worrying, was a disturbance, just after half-time when some fighting broke out – of all places, in the posh seats!

Behind the goal Wolves had been defending in the first half, fights broke out in front of an area of Executive Boxes.

Spanish local police moved in with batons and at least one dog to help stewards remove severao supporters and eject them.

As none wore colours it was impossible to tell at first glance if they were Wolves fans or not, or merely disgruntled home fans with a gripe.

It ended swiftly and it has to be said there was more action in that area than there was on the pitch for much of this tie, which had turned into a dead rubber.

Calleri struck again to restore Espanyol’s lead from the penalty spot just before the hour.

Max Kilman was unaware of David Lopez lurking behind him and caught him clumsily with a stray boot in the face as he tried to clear a cross and Calleri calmly sent Patrico the wrong way from the spot, for his second goal of the night.

Wolves were determined to maintain their unbeaten away run in Europe and equalised 11 minutes from time following a quick throw-in from Kilman.

Podence sprinted clear and picked out Matt Doherty who slammed home from close range to make it 2-2.

To his credit Calleri kept going and was rewarded when he completed his hat-trick in stoppage time. Espanyol took a quick free kick and Pipa picked out Calleri who nodded beyond Patricio.

That goal crushed Pedro Neto who had missed a sitter moments earlier when he rounded Prieto but somehow managed to miss the target from 20 yards despite aiming at a gaping net

Fortunately for the young Portuguese forward, it mattered little by then!





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