Wolves defender Ryan Bennett has highlighted the club’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea in December as a “pivotal moment” in the season.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were largely one of the most impressive teams last season, finishing seventh in the Premier League in their first season back in the top flight and reaching the FA Cup semi-finals.
However, there was a period in the season where Wolves’ form dropped considerably, with a 1-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace in October beginning a six-match run without victory which included defeats to Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City.
Speaking to the Express & Star, Bennett highlighted the win over Chelsea – which ended that run – as a key result in the season.
“Cardiff away was a low point,” the 29-year-old said. “There were some harsh words in the training ground after that one, we had Chelsea after that and then Newcastle and at that point, we weren’t in trouble but we were wondering where a result was coming from.
“There were harsh words that day and that was probably the low point of the season. After the Cardiff result and we’d also lost to Huddersfield as well, it was massive for us to beat Chelsea.
“We went in with a lot of pressure on us, to bounce back the way we did put us back into the rhythm we needed. It was a pivotal moment. It would have been six defeats out of seven.
“We knew, there was a massive feeling before, how important that week was and that it would be tough to get results.”
OPINION
Based on Wolves’ results this season, you just knew it had to be a win against one of the Premier League’s top six that ended a barren run. Nuno’s men were excellent against those sides, especially at home, and results against those teams became a hallmark of their season. Whenever one of those teams was to face Wolves at Molineux, you knew they were in for a tough game. And it proved against Chelsea. Despite losing against sides who would eventually be relegated, Wolves hit back with a massive win against the Blues that got them back into their rhythm. As Bennett says, it was a massive result which was badly needed to stop the rot. For next season, Molineux now has a firm reputation of being a fortress, especially when the top six come to town. And you can bet that it is not going to go away any time soon.