Wolves vs Torino: Europa League place far from secure despite away victory, warns Nuno Espirito Santo

Wolves will welcome the Serie A side to Molineux next Thursday with an advantage carved out in Italy by a Bremer own goal and second-half strikes from Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez

Nuno Espirito Santo warned Wolves’ place in the Europa League group stage is not yet secure, despite winning 3-2 away to Torino.

Wolves will welcome the Serie A side to Molineux next Thursday with an advantage carved out in Italy by a Bremer own goal and second-half strikes from Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez.

But Wolves manager Nuno said at his post-match press conference: “It’s far from being over, it’s a close tie. We have to play next week against a very, very tough and a very good team. We played good, we were organised, we stayed in shape, we produced some goals but, like I say, there’s still one game to go. We have to be really, really good to perform again against a very, very good team.”

This was already Wolves’ seventh game of the season, with their Europa League commitments meaning they have been playing competitive football since 25 July. Nuno, however, retained seven of the side that had started the 1-1 Premier League draw against Manchester United at Molineux on Monday.

Among those who kept their place was Joao Moutinho, the 32-year-old Portugual midfielder who has started every one of Wolves’ seven games.

“He respects himself, he rests, he’s a fantastic player and other players play also,” Nuno said. “It’s a very, very busy schedule – we have to manage that and always try and make good decisions so the team stays compact and organised.

“Moutinho is just one case among others that play two games in a row and three games in a row, then we have to decide for the next one. The most important thing is that the players understand that they have to really, really work hard. We have to recover well to be able to cope with such a difficult time and such a difficult schedule.”

Wolves opened the scoring just before half-time when Bremer was credited with getting the final touch in a crowded goalmouth to Moutinho’s flighted free-kick. Jota doubled the lead by finishing the impressive approach work of Adama Traore before Lorenzo De Silvestri immediately pulled one back for the hosts.

Jimenez restored Wolves’ two-goal lead with his fifth Europa League goal of the season, but Andrea Belotti converted a last-minute penalty to give Torino hope heading into the second leg.

On the performance of Traore – whose end product has often been questioned, even if his pace and power has not – Nuno said: “I’m pleased. He helped the team, others did what they had to do. It’s about tasks, it’s about rules, it’s about always being a team. Knowing that, when you know yourselves better and the characteristic of the player is what they can give to the team is important.”

Torino goalscorer De Silvestri told his club’s website: “We lost, but we have to think about our two goals scored. They still give us hope for the return match. They’re a very physical team, they put us in difficulty under that perspective.”

PA