Europa League: Wolves beat Pyunik 4-0 for a 8-0 aggregate win
Jota scored nine goals in the Premier League for Wolves last season
Diogo Jota scored a stunning acrobatic kick as Wolves beat Armenians Pyunik 4-0 at Molineux and 8-0 on aggregate to set up a Europa League play-off tie with Italian side Torino.
Jota came off the bench late on to power home a sublime finish from Raul Jimenez's excellent lob.
Pedro Neto opened the scoring with a debut goal before academy graduate Morgan Gibbs-White turned in a cross.
Ruben Vinagre made it 3-0 from close range before Jota struck.
The 8-0 aggregate win is Wolves' biggest in Europe and means they are now just two games away from reaching the Europa League group stage.
But they will face a sterner test in Serie A side Torino, who beat FC Shakhtyor of Belarus 6-1 on aggregate. The two games against the Italians will take place on 22 and 29 August.
- Wolves captain Coady writes to 48 fans in Armenia trip
Wolves are competing in Europe for the first time since 1980 and recorded their biggest ever continental victory in Armenia last week with a 4-0 win.
That result allowed them to be more relaxed about the return leg at Molineux and, unsurprisingly, manager Nuno Espirito Santo rang the changes.
Only skipper Conor Coady and Joao Moutinho retained their places from the side that drew with Leicester in their Premier League opener, while Jesus Vallejo, Neto and Patrick Cutrone were all given their full debuts.
Morgan Gibbs-White scored his first senior goal for Wolves on his 46th appearance for the club
The lack of urgency was clear in a first half largely devoid of chances and it was not until early in the second half that Wolves registered their first shot on target, Gibbs-White hitting an effort straight at the Pyunik goalkeeper.
But that chance seemed to stir the hosts into life and any glimmer of hope Pyunik had of staging an unlikely comeback was ended by a devastating 10-minute spell in which the hosts scored three and could have had more.
At 3-0 up, Nuno may have been tempted to tell his players to ease up but instead brought on star forwards Jota and Jimenez.
And the pair combined for a sensational goal as Jimenez scooped the ball up for Jota to dispatch a stunning volley.
Wolves looked comfortable in their first season back in the Premier League as they finished seventh. But the addition of competing in Europe this time presents an additional challenge - a congested fixture list.
Their progression to the play-off round means they face the prospect of five games in just 16 days between now and 1 September.
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Line-ups
Match Stats
Line-ups
Wolves
21Ruddy
4VallejoBooked at 27mins
16Coady
49Kilman
37Traoré
17Gibbs-White
27Saïss
28João MoutinhoSubstituted forDendonckerat 52'minutes
29Vinagre
7Lomba NetoSubstituted forJotaat 72'minutes
10CutroneSubstituted forJiménezat 72'minutes
Substitutes
5Bennett
8Neves
9Jiménez
11Rui Patrício
18Jota
19Castro Otto
32Dendoncker
Pyunik
25Dragojevic
8Stankov
66Zhestokov
4Belov
5Manucharyan
13EfimovSubstituted forGalimovat 45'minutes
10Vardanyan
6Mkrtchyan
7SimonyanSubstituted forYedigaryanat 71'minutes
70ShevchukSubstituted forMahmudovat 75'minutes
9Miranyan
Substitutes
2Grigoryan
17Yedigaryan
31Kobozev
63Marku
65Galimov
77Mahmudov
98Burzanovic
Referee:
Bastian Dankert
Match Stats
Home TeamWolvesAway TeamPyunik
Possession
Home43%
Away57%
Shots
Home21
Away6
Shots on Target
Home6
Away4
Corners
Home6
Away4
Fouls
Home14
Away6
Source: bbc.com
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