Wolverhampton Wanderers did not play badly against Newcastle United on Sunday.
The fixture saw what was arguably Wolves' most dominant performance of the new Premier League campaign, with 63.4% possession to Newcastle's 36.6%, 702 passes to Newcastle's 400, 91.2% pass accuracy (Newcastle managed a very respectable 82.3%), and crucially 16 shots to Newcastle's 5. Looking at the possession numbers and Wolves' overall control of the game for 87 minutes, Wolves should have won comfortably.
However, they were undone by some poor organisation from Rui Patricio, who did not set his wall up properly to cover the near post, and who was unable to stop Newcastle right back Jacob Murphy's curling shot around the wall and inside the near post.
How did the individual performances look for Wolves?
Goalkeeper and defence
Rui Patricio - 4 - Until conceding, this had been Patricio's easiest game of the season. Against a largely toothless Newcastle attack, he had very little to do for the whole game other than collect a handful of backpasses and unthreatening shot attempts. The lapse of concentration that this allowed proved to be Patricio's undoing, as the Newcastle equaliser, while it was a good shot, cannot be put down to anything other than goalkeeper error.
Willy Boly - 6 - Boly had little to do throughout the game, and was largely anonymous. He didn't make any major errors, though he didn't especially have much of an opportunity to.
Conor Coady - 6 - Coady put in a solid performance, without doing anything especially out of the ordinary. He cannot be blamed for conceding the late free kick - he decided to not attempt a tackle given the position, stood still, then Callum Wilson ran into him and bounced off him to hit the deck and claim the free kick regardless.
Max Kilman - 7 - Kilman was responsible for the most impressive piece of one-on-one defending shown on the night. After being beaten by Wilson, he recovered quickly to put in a well-timed sliding tackle to deny any opportunities. Another good performance from the man who is now a certain choice at left centre-back for Wolves.
Midfield
Nelson Semedo - 6 - Made some good passes and was positive overall, though he did not have a great deal of impact on the game.
Leander Dendoncker - 7 - Dendoncker did well, doing all that was expected of him in his primarily defensive role, and Newcastle were rarely able to threaten the Wolves back line. His passing left something to be desired, though, as he rarely displayed much attacking creativity.
Ruben Neves - 6 - Didn't have a bad game at all, sent the ball forwards well, though he didn't contribute anything memorable. Perhaps all the moments of genius that Neves is known for make his quieter games stand out a bit more.
Romain Saiss - 6 - Rarely put a foot wrong even though Newcastle rarely looked like threatening him defensively. Going forwards Saiss offered little, and was replaced by the more attacking option of Marcal with just over 20 minutes left to play.
Substitutes:
Marcal (for Saiss, 68') - 6 - Due to a lack of playing time in recent weeks, he struggled to influence the game after coming on. While he offers more going forward than Saiss, and despite Wolves appearing more balanced when he plays, it seems that Rayan Ait-Nouri will probably be the first-choice left wingback as soon as he is ready to play given the need for more goalscoring opportunities provided by the wing-backs.
Joao Moutinho (for Neves, 82') - N/A.
Forwards
Pedro Neto - 7 - Neto again appeared to be Wolves' most threatening attacker, driving up the pitch more and more as he grows into the role vacated by Diogo Jota. His finishing wasn't brilliant, but given time this should improve.
Raul Jimenez - 7 - Didn't have a great start to the game, squandering a number of opportunities which could have put Wolves ahead and firmly in control of the game within the opening 10 minutes. However, his earlier disappointment was more than made up for with a gorgeous shot from the edge of the box, sailing over five Newcastle heads before beating Karl Darlow, who got a hand to it but was powerless to keep it out.
Daniel Podence - 6 - Not as threatening while dribbling as he usually is, Podence still showed some good vision in picking out Neto with a low ball into a crowded box, and his early shot, while an easy one to save, had some force behind it.
Substitute:
Adama Traore (for Podence, 68') - 5 - Wasn't able to properly get into the game. Newcastle, playing in a low block and doubling up on him, with the second man defending the space near the byline which is usually the target of Traore's lightning-quick bursts forward, were able to effectively neutralise his attacking threat. He didn't contribute much while Wolves were out of possession.