Wolverhampton Wanderers slumped to a disappointing 1-1 draw against a 10-man Olympiacos on Thursday and Ruben Vinagre was one of many players criticised by supporters for his performance. The 20-year-old started at left wing-back but failed to make a telling impact in the final third and was suspect defensively too.
Vinagre failed to create a chance on the night, failed to find a teammate with one of his many crosses and didn’t have any successful dribbles past his opponent. The Portuguese u21 international came in for the injured Jonny Otto last month but hasn’t matched his performance levels and continues to be called out by fans as a result.
Vinagre been really poor tonight. Shaky defensively and not much better going forwards; doesn't even look sure of himself playing a return pass to Moutinho from a corner. #WWFC
— Alex Richards (@AA_Richards) March 12, 2020
Dreadful game. Grew into it but lacked any kind of rhythm or imagination throughout. Disappointing against 10 men but got the vital away goal. Fancy us at home. Neto lively, Vinagre poor for the third game in a row. When's Johnny back!? #wwfc
— Zackary Haynes (@zhaynes93) March 12, 2020
Last season’s Traore is back. Vinagre struggling massively. Boly a shadow of the beast. Neves and Moutinho giving the ball away.
Defo in a dodgy spell.
Come on boys. Drag those socks up 🙏
— Fergie ◣ ◢ (@FergusonStuart) March 12, 2020
How frustrating is Vinagre to watch? Christ.
— Tom Wooding (@TomWooding7) March 12, 2020
Unlike Vinagre who continually runs down blind alleys. Not the brightest of players
— Paul Hargrave (@PaulHargrave3) March 12, 2020
Still not sure about Vinagre’s defending 😮#wolves
— Vicki Lawton (@WolfyTor74) March 12, 2020
Hopefully that’s what Nuno is thinkin I’d rather have Neto at lwb than Vinagre right now anyway
— . (@Harvey_897) March 12, 2020
https://twitter.com/cal_0107/status/1238217558806999044?s=20
https://twitter.com/hwhitehouse__/status/1238212453974118400?s=20
Against Olympiacos, Vinagre played for 78 minutes, had 47 touches, completed 82.6% of his 23 passes, had one shot, whipped in five crosses, failed to find a teammate with any of his three long balls, made two tackles, drew one foul and made two interceptions.
How far will Wolves go in the Europa League?
Final
Semi-final
Quarter-final
No further than the round of 16
The 20-year-old has made 28 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring two goals. Vinagre has made more starts in the Europa League than Premier League as Jonny has been preferred on a regular basis, but Nuno Espirito Santo has little choice but to trust him until his first-choice returns,
Wolves travel to face West Ham United on Sunday and could go above fifth-placed Manchester United with a win.
