He has become the undisputed ace of the team.
Wolverhampton lost 2-3 to Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the 2023-24 English Premier League held at Selhurst Park in London, England on the 3rd (Korean time). The defense collapsed and a whopping 3 goals were allowed.메이저사이트
Although he lost the game, Hwang Hee-chan showed a remarkable performance. Hwang Hee-chan started this game on the bench. It was because of the aftermath of the injury. Hwang Hee-chan got his first starting opportunity of the season in the 3rd round match against Everton, but was forced to withdraw as a substitute after the first half due to an unexpected injury. However, he showed a quick recovery and was replaced by Pablo Sarabia in the 15th minute of the second half of the day.
And five minutes later, he received Pedro Neto’s cross from a free kick and scored his second goal of the season. I attempted a header, but it was a lucky goal that hit his shoulder. Wolverhampton, which was trailing 0-1, balanced the score with Hwang Hee-chan’s goal.
With this goal, Hwang Hee-chan became the team’s highest scorer this season. He has already scored his first goal against Brighton & Hove Albion in the second round. He emerged as an ace in Wolverhampton, where his offensive ability was disappointing this season.
After the Palace match, football statistics media ‘Foot Mob’ gave Hwang Hee-chan a rating of 7.7. It was Wolverhampton’s third highest score after Neto and Mario Lemina. Considering that he played less time than the two starting players, it was a meaningful rating.
Hwang Hee-chan has become the team’s highest scoring player, but he is not receiving any help from Wolverhampton. Wolverhampton lost all games in which Hwang Hee-chan scored. In the game against Brighton, after quickly conceding 4 goals, Hwang Hee-chan was brought in. Hwang Hee-chan returned the favor and changed the gloomy atmosphere with an exquisite header goal. However, Wolverhampton failed to score any more goals against Brighton. Hwang Hee-chan’s first goal of the season was dull.
The situation against Palace was a little better. Hwang Hee-chan’s goal was a valuable goal that tied the score. However, the defense collapsed and two more goals were conceded. Everich Eze and Odsonne Edouard completely destroyed Wolverhampton’s defense. Matheus Cunha scored another goal in extra time in the second half, but it was too late. The momentum of victory was already over.
As such, Wolverhampton lost all of the games in which Hwang Hee-chan scored. This season, they fell to 15th place with 1 win and 3 losses in the league.
In fact, Wolverhampton’s slump was expected. Coach Julen Lopetegui suddenly resigned ahead of the season. The reason was the passive transfer market. Wolverhampton sent away many players in the summer transfer market. Ruben Neves, the ace of the midfield, was sent to Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), and Adama Traore and Joao Moutinho became free agents and parted ways. Raul Jimenez, who was at the forefront of Wolverhampton for a long time, also transferred to Fulham.
To make matters worse, another midfield ace, Mateus Nunes, also transferred to Manchester City. Manchester City has found a replacement for Kevin De Bruyne ahead of the transfer window closing. De Bruyne suffered a long-term injury in the opening match against Burnley and will only be able to play in December. In the end, Manchester City selected Nunes as a replacement, and Nunes missed training as he was eager to transfer. In the end, Wolverhampton gave up another key player.
In comparison, the recruitment was disappointing. He permanently recruited Cunha and Bubba Car Traore, who were loanees last season. Next, Matt Doherty was signed as a free agent without a transfer fee. He also signed Strasbourg midfielder Jean Richner Bellegarde. He has not made any notable signings as many key players have been missing out. This situation resulted in Coach Lopetegui’s resignation. Coach Gary O’Neill, who has not been with Wolverhampton throughout pre-season, is hastily putting the team together.
Despite the team’s slump, Hwang Hee-chan predicted extraordinary performance this season. The key is, of course, injuries. Hwang Hee-chan has always been held back by injuries and has swallowed his regrets. Last season was especially serious. Hwang Hee-chan did not catch the eye of coach Bruno Raz at the beginning of last season and was mainly used as a replacement.
However, after coach Raj was fired due to poor performance in November last year, coach Lopetegui took over. Subsequently, Hwang Hee-chan participated in the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup as a member of the Republic of Korea national team. And he captured the heart of coach Lopetegui with a dramatic winning goal against Portugal that led Korea to advance to the round of 16.
Afterwards, Coach Lopetegui actively hired Hwang Hee-chan, who returned to Wolverhampton. Hwang Hee-chan reciprocated this. Although he had no offensive points, he played actively. In the 22nd round match against Liverpool, he induced Joel Matip’s own goal and contributed to the team’s 3-0 win.
However, he collapsed due to a sudden injury during the game against Liverpool. Hwang Hee-chan, who missed the following five league games, scored his first Premier League goal against Newcastle in round 27. However, he missed two games again due to injury. After his return, he scored his 3rd goal of the season against Brentford in round 31. And he finished the season by scoring a total of 4 goals, including the goal against Everton in the 37th round of the English FA Cup.
This situation was repeated briefly this year. He gained momentum by scoring against Brighton, but suffered another injury against Everton. And he scored against Palace. Now, Hwang Hee-chan really has to watch out for injuries.