Gary O’Neil explains why he took Andre off at half-time against Man City

Wolves suffered a crushing defeat to Manchester City on Sunday and Gary O’Neil has explained his decision to take off Andre at half-time.

Wolves produced one of their better performances this season, but still came up short at Molineux.

 

Jorgen Strand Larsen got Wolves off to the perfect start, tapping home Nelson Semedo’s brilliant cross from the right wing.

City equalised through Josko Gvardiol, who beat Jose Sa – in for the injured Sam Johnstone – with a stunning strike from 20 yards.

Wolves then defended resolutely for the second-half, with Sa pulling off a string of great saves. But Wolves’ hard work was undone in the 95th minute when John Stones scored a header from a corner.

There was real controversy about the goal, with Bernardo Silva – who was offside at the point of contact with Stones – having been close to Sa.

The goal was given, much to the dismay of the players who had battled so hard.

After the game, Gary O’Neil shared why he decided to take off midfielder Andre.

 

O’Neil says Andre ‘struggled with the detail of the game’ against Man City

Andre was Wolves’ penultimate signing of the summer window and has impressed fans with his performances so far.

His passing in particular has been very good. Before the game with Manchester City, Andre had the highest pass completion rate in the Premier League.

But against City, he was taken off at half-time which came as a surprise to some.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, O’Neil stated that Andre just struggled with the ‘detail’ of the game.

 

He said: “I just thought the detail of the game plan he struggled with at times. He was the one really out there who struggled to get to a couple of things we needed him to.

“Obviously he’s had a long flight and a lot of travel. He probably got back the latest out of everybody. I just felt Tommy at that moment, and moving Mario in one would help us.”

Andre played well against Man City

It is a sign of Andre’s quality that he still played fairly well against City, despite the travelling he did over the international break.

As per Sofascore data, the star made four clearances, one block and two tackles during his industrious 45-minute showing.

The issue was just that he couldn’t really get on the ball and dictate things, which is what he likes to do. But then, few players are going to do that against Manchester City, a side that dominates the ball every game they play.

Thankfully there was no injury for Andre, as some had initially feared when he did not re-emerge for the second-half. To lose him for any period of time would be a major blow for Wolves.

 

 

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