Lopez Shines in Wolves' Dominant Away Victory
Lopez’s Wolves revival gathered real momentum as he struck twice in a ruthless away win, underlining just how far he has come since last season’s struggles and loan return to his former club.
The forward, who opened his account in old gold in the League Cup earlier this month, looked transformed. His first big moment arrived in brutal, one-on-one fashion: he burned past Preston defender Liam Lindsay, left him trailing, then drove straight into the box and lashed a powerful finish beyond Daniel Iversen. One touch to separate himself, another to settle, and the third to punish. Clinical.
Wolves almost killed the contest off immediately. Raul Jimenez, back for a second spell and already hunting his first goal of the new stint, ghosted into space and tried a deft flick from close range. The idea was right, the execution just off, the ball skimming agonisingly wide of the post.
That miss gave the hosts a lifeline and they briefly seized it. After a slow start, Preston forced a spell of pressure and thought they had their equaliser when Callum Lang’s effort beat the keeper. Marshall Munetsi read it perfectly, though, dropping back to nod the ball off the line and preserve Wolves’ fragile lead.
The away side still carried the sharper edge. Rodrigo Gomes came within inches of doubling it on the stroke of half-time, drilling a low effort from the edge of the area that had Iversen scrambling. The keeper flung himself full length and, at full stretch, managed to turn the shot away with a strong hand.
The match felt finely poised as both managers turned to their benches after the interval. Fresh legs, new patterns, a game waiting for someone to grab it.
That someone was Armstrong.
Introduced from the bench, he shifted the rhythm in an instant. On 71 minutes, he linked up neatly with Jimenez, exchanging a crisp one-two that sliced open the defence and left him free inside the box. One composed touch, one assured finish, and Wolves finally had daylight at 2-0.
The pressure told again late on. Lopez, brimming with confidence by now, capped another flowing move with a precise strike from the edge of the area, doubling his tally with eight minutes left and tightening Wolves’ grip on the contest.
Preston refused to fold completely. Thompson produced a clever finish of his own to pull one back and make it 3-1, a reminder that the hosts still carried a punch.
But the night belonged to Wolves, and to Lopez in particular – a player who stumbled last season, now striding into this one with the look of someone determined to rewrite his story.
