Vitor Pereira’s reign at Wolves got off to a perfect start as his side comfortably defeated fellow relegation battlers Leicester.
The Portuguese coach, who replaced Gary O’Neil on Thursday, made four changes to the team following last week’s late 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich.
Two of the changes were bringing in compatriots Goncalo Guedes and Rodrigo Gomes, and both found the net within the first 36 minutes.
Top scorer Matheus Cunha capitalized on poor Leicester defending to score his ninth goal of the season, adding a third just before half-time.
Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy made a double substitution at the break, followed by another change seven minutes into the second half, but the hosts rarely threatened.
Wolves ended a four-match losing streak with the victory.
Pereira’s English adventure worth the wait
Pereira’s first Premier League game as a manager has been a long-awaited moment.
The 56-year-old had hoped for the Everton job in 2013 and claims he “did many job interviews with English clubs.” A two-time title winner with Porto, he has finally earned his chance in England, but he could hardly have imagined such a comfortable start.
Wolves were 3-0 up by half-time, though that shouldn’t be seen as a sudden transformation into a more potent attacking side. They simply capitalized on the opportunities they were given.
The opening goal came when Nelson Semedo played a speculative ball down the right, which fortuitously found Goncalo Guedes in the box.
The Portugal international, making just his second league start of the season, hooked the ball past Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward with the first shot of Pereira’s tenure.
Matt Doherty then sent a hopeful diagonal ball towards Leicester’s right-back, James Justin, who let it pass by without realizing Gomes had made a run behind him.
Gomes took a heavy touch before attempting to poke the ball goalwards. Though he missed the connection, it still trickled past Ward and into the net as the keeper had dived to his right, expecting another touch from Gomes.
As half-time approached, Semedo again found Guedes down the right, and the Portuguese forward turned back inside to feed Cunha, who showed great composure to finish past Ward and into the far corner.
Leicester made multiple substitutions after the break, but Wolves came closest to scoring again, with chances from Santiago Bueno and Joao Gomes.
More to follow.