Wolves secured a point last night against Burnley in their second Premier League game in the space of three days, as one player failed to make the difference again.
It was a difficult night for Wolves at Turf Moor, as Gary O’Neil’s squad looked depleted and jaded from the lack of depth and frequency of games.
The Old Gold were starved of an outlet in the final third due to key injuries plaguing the XI, seeing academy star Leon Chiwome make his second consecutive Premier League start.
While it was another tough night for the 18-year-old, the fault did not rest with the teen as he was left restricted with little creativity behind him.
A draw was a fair result in the end, on what could have been a comfortable night for Wolves if they had a fully fit squad however, one player’s lack of conviction stuck out on a night that needed the senior figures to step up.
Pablo Sarabia was not good enough again v Burnley
Before the match, it was hoped that Pablo Sarabia would be alerted to improve his performance levels after being largely ineffective against Aston Villa.
Unfortunately, the Spaniard’s levels seemed to drop even more against Burnley, as he failed to make an impact as Wolves’ only senior attacker available to start.
Aside from registering the assist for Rayan Ait-Nouri’s equaliser, the 31-year-old failed to make a mark, with journalist Nathan Judah accusing him of going ‘missing’, handing him a 5/10 match rating, via Express and Star.
Judah also dubbed Sarabia’s evening as a ‘night to forget’, which was echoed by his underwhelming numbers from the 83 minutes he played.
As per Sofascore, the Spain international recorded only 52 touches on the ball, completed two out of his seven attempted crosses, lost possession 17 times and won only 25% of his duels.
Wolves needed Pablo Sarabia to step up
With a CV like Sarabia’s, it would be expected that the 31-year-old would have the capability to act as a source of inspiration for those around him, which couldn’t be further from the truth at Turf Moor.
A player with 532 recorded domestic appearances was unable to support the likes of Chiwome, who made only the third senior appearance of his career, frankly letting his team down.
O’Neil shouldn’t have to motivate his senior players in order to hit acceptable performance levels at this stage of the season, particularly given how Wolves are currently struggling for numbers.
It seems as though the £90k-a-week Spanaird’s searing form prior to the international break has simmered out, leaving the manager even shorter on reliable quality when he needs it most.