Mutiny is in the air at Molineux but Brendan Rodgers has breathing room after Leicester City taught Wolves a brutal lesson in closing.
With a second win in four days – and their first away this season – Leicester moved up from the bottom of the Premier League table to 16th.
Wolves, on the other hand, sank to second place and deeper into trouble after a third loss in four games under interim boss Steve Davis.
Youri Tielemans (pictured) scored the first goal for the Foxes with a 25-yard screamer
Tielemans (right) collected the ball outside the box and hammered it into the top left corner
Harvey Barnes (pictured) scored an excellent team goal to put Foxes 2-0 before half-time
Fan unrest over the botched search for a new manager turned to outright hostility towards technical director Scott Sellars just after the hour mark.
While chairman Jeff Shi would be the more obvious target after sacking Bruno Lage and then getting a custard pie in the face of both Julen Lopetegui and Michael Beale, Sellars has been accused of meddling in first-team affairs.
“Scott Sellars, get out of the club,” chanted the home fans on several occasions.
Davis, who is now in office until the New Year as the search for permanent employment continues, championed the former Newcastle and Blackburn striker.
Steve Davis (pictured) suffered his third loss in four games, leaving Wolves in 19th place
Ruben Neves (pictured) welcomed the decision to keep Davis in his pre-game notes
It was a frustrating day for Diego Costa (pictured) who couldn’t quite find the goal at Molineux
MATCH FACTS
WOLVES (4-2-3-1): Sa 5; Jonny 4 (Semedo 67, 5.5), Collins 4.5, Kilman 5, Bueno 6.5; Moutinho 5 (B Traore 81), Neves 6; A Traore 5.5, Nunes 6 (Campbell 66, 6), Podence 5; Costa 6 (Hee-Chan, 80). Substitutes: Sarkic, Ait-Nouri, Mosquera, Guedes, Hodge.
Booked: Jonny
Janitor Manager: Steve Davis 5
LEICESTER (4-1-4-1): Ward 7.5; Castagne 7, Amartey 6.5, Faes 7, Justin 7 (Thomas 88); Soumare 6 (Mendy 61, 6.5); Maddison 7, Tielemans 8; Dewsbury-Hall 6.5 (Praet 62, 6), Barnes 7 (Albrighton 79, 6); Daka 6.5 (Vardy 61, 7). Substitutes: Iversen, Soyuncu, Iheanacho, Perez.
Scorers: Tielemens 8, Barnes 19, Maddison 65, Vardy 79
Booked: Faes
Coach: Brendan Rodgers 7
Referee: Michael Oliver 6.5
“I was surprised,” he said. “I pick the team with James (Collins) and we make decisions about substitutions and form.
“No interruptions from Scott. He does his work above and we do ours below.’
If Wolves have rather stumbled through the managerial minefield in the Midlands at the moment, Leicester will benefit from holding on to Rodgers during a rocky period.
They look more like their old selves and Rodgers like a manager who is no longer glancing nervously over his shoulder.
“We knew the results would change,” he said. “In my position I was just looking to the next game but I always felt like this team was going to make progress.”
The history of this game can be summed up with one statistic: Wolves had 21 shots without a goal, while Leicester had five and scored four. Sometimes it really is that simple.
Wolves have actually played a long time, but a hit rate of five goals from 12 games this season speaks for itself.
They fired at Danny Ward’s goal from the start but found themselves two down within 19 minutes.
Leicester hadn’t even gotten out of their own half when Youri Tielemens put them ahead with a spectacular goal.
James Maddison parried a free-kick from the left, which headed straight for Tielemens on the edge of the box.
The Belgian rebounded before sending a shot into the top corner and off the post. It wasn’t quite as sweet as his famous winning goal against Chelsea in the 2021 FA Cup final, but sensational nonetheless.
James Maddison (right) couldn’t believe Tielemans’ stunning shot from outside the box
Maddison (left) also scored an excellent goal from the penalty area in the second half
Davis’ side (left) have now lost four of their last five games and travel to Brentford next
Adama Traore (left) was fouled by Leicester’s James Justin (right) during the game
“I used the spin on the ball and tried to hit it – it worked perfectly,” beamed Tielemens.
If that felt like a sucker for Wolves after such a good start, they were soon caught with another.
This time the goal was far too easy. Wout Faes carried the ball out of his own half and fed it to Maddison, who passed a pass down the left to Harvey Barnes.
Barnes ran towards Jonny, who stumbled as No 7 Leicester played a double with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and put the ball past Jose Sa.
Leicester could easily have had a third as Patson completed Daka Sa’s clearance kick, but equally Wolves could have been level at half-time after squandering two more chances from Diego Costa and Daniel Podence before the break.
Wolves striker Costa removed a blue flare from the field during the game
Jamie Vardy (centre) scored his first goal of the season when he brought in a Castagne cross
Vardy (pictured) ran to celebrate with the away fans after scoring his 164th goal for Leicester
Danny Ward (left) made several good saves throughout the game to keep his fourth clean sheet
Maddison established the score in the 65th minute, just after Rodgers made a hat-trick and the frustration of Wolves fans boiled over.
One of the substitutes, Jamie Vardy, played the ball 30 yards from goal to Maddison and looked for a back pass. However, Maddison rebounded from a challenge from Adama Traore and accelerated away from Nathan Collins before whipping a shot past Sa.
Vardy scored his goal in the 79th minute after Leicester pounced on a poor pass from Max Kilman. Timothy Castagne chased the ball and crossed the edge of the six-yard box where Vardy would never miss.
Brendan Rodgers’ side (pictured) move up to 16th place in the table with their third win of the season
Wolves are in a relegation battle, make no mistake, and they will have to wage it with a caretaker in charge for the foreseeable future.
“Losing 4-0 at home is terrible. Today’s pain is hard to take,” Davis said.
“It’s still very early in the season but it has to change. We can’t say that beyond the World Cup. We need to get points to give everyone some hope.’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11345851/WOLVES-0-4-LEICESTER-Foxes-hit-FOUR-climb-relegation-zone.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 Wolves 0-4 Leicester: Foxes scored FOUR to climb relegation zone
