Lopez Shines as Wolves Secure Victory Against Preston
Lopez did not ease his way into this season. He tore into it.
After a difficult campaign last year, which ended with him sent back on loan to his former club, the forward has hit the reset button in style. He opened his account in old gold in the League Cup earlier this month, and here he looked every inch a player reborn.
His first big moment came with a surge that ripped Preston apart. Lopez left defender Liam Lindsay trailing, burst into open grass and drove straight into the box. One touch to steady himself, then a thumping finish past Daniel Iversen. Clinical. Confident. The kind of goal that announces a new version of a player.
Wolves almost had a second almost immediately, and it came from another familiar face. Raul Jimenez, back for a second spell, darted to the near post and tried to guide a close-range flick inside the upright. The idea was right, the execution a whisker off, the ball skimming wide.
That miss gave the hosts a lifeline and they finally woke up. A spell of pressure forced Wolves back, and it took sharp defending to preserve the lead. Marshall Munetsi read the danger, dropped onto his line and nodded away Callum Lang's effort just as it looked destined to creep in.
The game swung from end to end. As half-time approached, Rodrigo Gomes almost punished Preston again. He stepped onto a loose ball at the edge of the area and drilled a low strike towards the far corner. Iversen flung himself across his goal, fingertips just strong enough to turn it away.
The interval arrived with the contest finely balanced, both managers turning to their benches with the match poised.
Changes followed, and the pattern shifted. Wolves found another gear.
On 71 minutes, the visitors finally carved out the breathing space their control deserved. Substitute Armstrong linked sharply with Jimenez, exchanging a neat one-two that sliced open the defence. Released inside the area, Armstrong kept his head and finished, doubling the lead and quietening the home crowd.
Preston’s resistance sagged. Wolves smelled blood.
Lopez, already brimming with confidence, stepped forward again. Another flowing move rolled to him on the edge of the box, and he wasted no time, drilling his second of the night with eight minutes left. Two goals, both emphatic, both the mark of a player who now looks settled and dangerous.
There was still a twist. Thompson, refusing to let the game die tamely, produced a composed finish of his own to pull one back and make it 3-1. It didn’t change the outcome, but it did underline the edge that had run through the contest.
For Wolves, the scoreboard told the story: a rejuvenated Lopez, a productive Jimenez cameo, and an away performance that suggested this season might feel very different to the last.
