Matheus Cunha stars as in-form Wolves equal club record with win over Leicester

By Sunny Badwal, PA

Matheus Cunha scored one goal and set up two more as Wolves claimed a record-equalling sixth successive top-flight win as they put relegated Leicester to the sword with a 3-0 victory at Molineux.

October 1970 was the last time Wolves had won six in a row in the top division and their upward trajectory hit new heights under the leadership of Vitor Pereira as they climbed to 13th in the table.

Leicester, in contrast, saw their winless run stretch to 11 matches while Jamie Vardy, who it was announced this week would leave the Foxes at the end of the season, missed a second-half penalty on another miserable day for the visitors.

Cunha’s potential summer move to Manchester United dominated talk in the build-up to the match but the Wolves talisman showed his importance to Pereira and his side when he knocked in his 15th goal of the campaign for the opener after 33 minutes.

The Brazilian then turned creator for Wolves’ next two goals. He put it on a plate for in-form Jorgen Strand Larsen to make it 2-0 in the 56th minute before squaring to Rodrigo Gomes who sealed a dominant win late on.

Vardy, who will bid farewell to Leicester in the summer after 13 years at the club, cut a lonely and frustrated figure up front, and his afternoon got worse when he was denied his 199th goal for the Foxes after seeing his 72nd-minute spot-kick saved by Jose Sa.

Cunha was the first to provide a Wolves attack in the early stages, his solo run through the middle of the park opened up an opportunity but he fired wide.

Leicester almost shot themselves in the foot when goalkeeper Mads Hermansen gifted a loose pass straight to Andre but the Brazilian’s looping effort from the halfway line bounced wide.

Wolves brought out the flicks and tricks and were beginning to suffocate the visitors into their own box, with a cross falling the way of Rayan Ait-Nouri who saw his goalbound effort blocked by the head of Wout Faes.

The signs were there and Wolves took the lead just after the half-hour mark.

Ait-Nouri continued to cause problems and he had the freedom of Molineux to pick out a low ball into Cunha who turned home from close range for his fifth goal in his last seven games.

Wolves should have doubled their lead seven minutes into the second period. Ait-Nouri’s initial effort bounced to Cunha who fired straight at Hermansen before the ball fell to Larsen, who somehow shot over from two yards.

The Norwegian was not to be denied at the second time of asking, though.

Cunha was at the heart of it all again and he pinged a magnificent defence-splitting pass straight into the path of Larsen who expertly dispatched into the bottom left corner.

Leicester were given the chance to halve the deficit when Sa brought Vardy down inside the box but the Wolves keeper made amends when he dived low and right to keep the former England striker out.

Wolves put the cherry on top of a commanding performance five minutes from time as Cunha ran through on goal again before spotting the run of Gomes, who stroked into an empty net for his second goal for the club.