How Julen Lopetegui Managed To Take Wolves From Rock Bottom To Premier League Safety With Time To Spare – Scout Report

The Manager of the Season award is almost a certainty to fall onto the lap of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.

Despite all the jeers and heckling from opposition fans for the Gunners’ recent drop-off in form, which has almost certainly handed the Premier League title to Manchester City, the Spaniard has raised the expectations at the Emirates Stadium to the highest peak in two decades.

However, there is another Spanish coach who deserves a shout for the esteemed award – Julen Lopetegui.

The former Sevilla boss took over at Molineux at a difficult time in the season.

Wolves had sacked Bruno Lage after a horrific spell of form and were staring down the gut-wrenching barrel of relegation heading into the winter World Cup in Qatar.

However, with three games to spare, Lopetegui guided the West Midlands club to safety, picking up 30 points from his first 20 matches in charge, putting an end to the supporters’ anxiety.

Wins against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Aston Villa were among some of the team’s very best victories in recent seasons and so it’s time that we dissect how Lopetegui pulled the club from the depths of despair to safety within a matter of months.

In this tactical analysis piece, we will analyse Julen Lopetegui’s tactics during his time with Wolves, looking at the highs and lows of the coach’s tenure so far and what needs to improve heading into next season.

Change of shape and direct balls from deep

Before we begin our analysis of Wolves’ tactical set-up over the past few months, it’s important to mention that Lopetegui hasn’t innovated at Molineux. His tactics have not been outside the realms of normality, nor has he managed to wholly recreate the composition of his Sevilla squad which achieved European glory.

Nevertheless, having taken over midway through the campaign, this was never the aim. His objective was to implement a style of play that would see an instant turnaround in results which has been admirably attained.

With a full pre-season under his belt, the typical Lopetegui blueprint may become more apparent next season. But for now, the manager had to work with the tools he was given, and may we say, he’s done some wonderful crafting with them. 

Prior to his arrival in English football, Wolves were primarily set up in a 4-3-3 formation as this way, Lage could shoehorn summer signing Matheus Nunes, Rúben Neves and João Moutinho into the midfield all at once, although it wasn’t uncommon to see the Portuguese coach deploy a 4-2-3-1 either. 

As can be seen from this data viz taken from Wyscout, the 4-2-3-1 has been Wolves’ favoured formation this season in all competitions, across all managers, including interim boss Steve Davis who took temporary charge from the beginning of October through to the start of the World Cup following the early and unsurprising dismissal of Lage. 

Once seated in the dugout, Lopetegui stuck with the 4-2-3-1 but had a tendency to switch to a 4-4-2 as well despite being a staunch lover of the 4-3-3 during his three-year spell with Sevilla. The new boss wasn’t too concerned about where Nunes would fit in the middle of the park and has regularly used him on the flanks.

The manager has also been known to shift through the two conventional structures in-game as was made apparent from the side’s recent 2-0 defeat against Manchester United in which Lopeteg