Julen Lopetegui, manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, has declared that guiding the Midlands club to 40 Premier League points is his “most important achievement” as a manager, even more so than winning the Europa League with Sevilla. When Lopetegui replaced the sacked Bruno Lage late last year, Wolves were joint bottom of the Premier League, but seven wins from nine home games in 2023 have seen them climb to 13th. Lopetegui believes this is a greater achievement than taking Sevilla to the Champions League and winning the Europa League.
The Wolves manager was delighted with his team’s performance against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, who were wasteful in front of goal at Molineux and allowed Wolves to hold out for a precious victory. Lopetegui told BBC Match of the Day that his team deserved the win against the best team in the second half of the season.
After suffering their heaviest league defeat since 2007 at Brighton last weekend, Wolves responded perfectly to register their fourth consecutive home clean sheet and fourth successive top-flight win at Molineux – a feat they last achieved in April 1975. Lopetegui was honest with his players and told them that they are not that team that lost at Brighton, but instead they put it all on the pitch. The manager was also full of praise for the club’s supporters who stuck by his side following the humbling defeat at Amex Stadium. He said that without them, none of this would have been possible.