Lopez Shines in Wolves' Dominant Away Victory

Lopez’s Wolves reboot gathered serious momentum as he struck twice in a ruthless away win, underlining just how far he has come from last season’s stuttering spell and loan return to his former club.

The forward, who opened his Wolves account in the League Cup earlier this month, looked a different player here. Confidence on the ball, sharp in the final third – and brutal when space appeared.

His first major statement came when he simply burned past Preston defender Liam Lindsay, leaving him trailing in his wake. Lopez carried the ball all the way into the box, never breaking stride, before smashing a powerful finish beyond Daniel Iversen. One surge, one touch to set, one emphatic hit. Old gold, new edge.

The visitors almost had a second almost immediately. Raul Jimenez, back for a second spell in Wolves colours, ghosted into position and met a low cross with a deft flick from close range. The idea was right, the execution a fraction off, the ball skidding agonisingly wide of the far post.

That miss jolted the hosts into life. A spell of pressure finally arrived, and with it their best early opening. Callum Lang’s effort looked destined to find the net, only for Marshall Munetsi to read it and nod the ball off the line, a crucial intervention that preserved Wolves’ lead and punctured the home crowd’s growing noise.

Just as the half threatened to drift to a quiet close, Rodrigo Gomes almost ripped it open again. Cutting in at the edge of the area, he drilled a low strike that forced Iversen into a full-stretch save, the keeper clawing the ball away with a strong right hand. Wolves went in at the break on top, but not out of sight.

The restart brought changes from both dugouts and a sense that the match sat on a knife-edge. One moment could tilt it either way.

That moment belonged to the visitors. On 71 minutes, Armstrong stepped off the bench and immediately seized control of the narrative. Linking up neatly with Jimenez, he exchanged a sharp one-two that sliced through the defence and sent him clear inside the box. One touch to steady, one to finish. The lead doubled, the home resistance punctured.

From there, Wolves smelled blood. Lopez, already brimming with belief, capped his night with a second goal that showcased the composure of a player reborn. A flowing move ended with the ball at his feet on the edge of the area, and he needed no invitation. A precise, measured strike, low and true, flashed into the corner with eight minutes left. Two for him, three for his side, and the contest effectively settled.

The hosts refused to fold completely. Thompson produced a sharp finish of his own to pull one back and make it 3-1, a reminder that the home side still carried a punch. But the damage had been done long before.

For Lopez, once on the fringes and sent back on loan, this felt like something else entirely: a night that suggested he is no longer just fighting for a place, but demanding one.