Daily Mail - 30.08.2019

91

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Daily Mail, Friday, August 30, 2019

91

ISTANBUL STARTS HERE

THE FINAL:

SATURDAY,

MAY 30

KICK-OFF, 8PM

Poacher Dendoncker sends Wolves into Euro dreamland

WOLVES 2

TORINO 1

KIERAN GILL at Molineux

WOLVES manager Nuno

Espirito Santo warned last

week that his players and

their fans could not afford

to fantasise about more

European away days this

autumn. They can now.

After winning 3-2 in Italy,

Wolves finished the job

last night to join Arsenal

and Manchester United in

the hat for today’s Europa

League draw.

A group hug among Nuno

and his coaching staff

greeted the final whistle.

Wolves’ first season in

Europe since 1980-81 will

not be ending any time

soon. Nuno said: ‘This is

work that started three

years ago, in the

Championship, building

and building. This is so

important for us.

Massive, massive.’

Raul Jimenez’s sixth

Europa League goal this

season got Wolves going

here. Leander

Dendoncker completed

the victory, scoring 55

seconds after Andrea

Belotti had given Torino

a glimmer of hope.

The visitors controlled

possession but that played

into Wolves’ hands. The

hosts could sit back and

pick their moments to

counter. It was after 30

minutes that they broke

the deadlock.

Adama Traore turned

Ola Aina inside out before

producing a cross

towards the near post.

Jimenez needed only a

single touch to beat

goalkeeper Salvatore

Sirigu.

In the 58th minute, Torino

made it 1-1, with Belotti

heading home from a

free-kick.

It increased nerves, but

only for a moment. Within

a minute, Wolves were

ahead again. Diogo Jota

smashed a low shot at

Sirigu and Dendoncker

put away the rebound,

scoring off the post.

At noon today, the draw

for the Europa League

group stages will be made

in Monaco.

Anyone monitoring the

television ratings may

notice a fair few tuning in

from the Black Country.

(Wolves win 5-3 on aggregate)

TOTTENHAM ODDS 25-1 AIR MILES 6,214

THE CHALLENGES

FACING OUR CLUBS

n BY the end of the group

stage, Mauricio Pochettino will

have managed Tottenham in

55 games in Europe. This will

draw him level with Bill

Nicholson as the Spurs boss

who has led the club in the

most European matches.

DANGER MAN

PHILIPPE COUTINHO

BAYERN MUNICH

COUTINHO has scored three

times against Spurs — and the

fourth-most expensive player

in history will be out to show

the PL what it’s missing.

MAN CITY ODDS 10-3 AIR MILES 6,778

n PEP GUARDIOLA has won the

Champions League on two

occasions as a manager —

in 2009 and 2011 with

Barcelona. A third win would

see him draw level with

Zinedine Zidane, Carlo

Ancelotti and Bob Paisley.

DANGER MAN

JUNIOR MORAES

SHAKHTAR DONETSK

TOP scorer in the Ukrainian

Premier League last season,

Moraes also found the net

three times in the Champions

League.

LIVERPOOL ODDS 13-2 AIR MILES 4,746

n LIVERPOOL are aiming to

become the first English club

to appear in three successive

European Cup finals. The Reds

have not lost in 22 games at

Anfield in Europe — they were

last defeated at home by Real

Madrid in October 2014.

DANGER MAN

LORENZO INSIGNE

NAPOLI

INSIGNE scored a 90th-minute

winner against Liverpool last

season. He has played 304

times for Napoli — the seventh

most in the club’s history.

CHELSEA ODDS 33-1 AIR MILES 2,408

n ON the two previous

occasions that Chelsea have

been in the same Champions

League group as Valencia,

they have gone on to reach

the final (2007-08 and 2011-12).

Frank Lampard played against

Valencia four times as a player.

DANGER MAN

DUSAN TADIC

AJAX

THE former Southampton man

scored nine times for Ajax in

the Champions League last

season, helping the Dutch club

to a first semi-final since 1997.

MORAES

COUTINHO

TADIC

WATCHING BRIEF...

EUROPA LEAGUE DRAW

Today, noon, BT Sport 2

INSIGNE