Hwang Hee-chan grabs an assist as Wolves struggle in first outing

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan in action with Leeds United's Robin Koch in a Premier League game at Elland Road in Leeds on Aug. 6. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The 2022-23 Premier League season had barely started when Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan picked up his first assist, heading on the ball for what would turn out to be Wolves' only goal in a tough 2-1 loss to Leeds United.

Wolves chance came in the sixth minute of what turned out to be a very scrappy game at Elland Road in Leeds, with Hwang heading down a cross for Daniel Podence to fire home.

That lead was short-lived, however, with Rodrigo Moreno tying the score for Leeds in the 24th minute and an unfortunate Rayan Ait-Nouri own goal putting the home side ahead in the 74th.

The own goal is an unfortunate statistic but Ait-Nouri is hardly to blame — had it not been his foot that connected with the ball it would undoubtedly have been sent home by Leeds' Brenden Aaronson.

The loss is an uncomfortable start for Wolves, who take to the pitch with essentially the exact same squad that finished in 10th place last season.

Speaking after the game, manager Bruno Lage was positive about the team's performance, although he had been furious when the whistle blew — presumably with the very physical game that Leeds played — and looked close to getting a fight with rival manager Jesse Marsch.

Speaking after the game, Lage implied that Marsch had said something offensive during the first half and not attempted to apologize until after his team had won the game.

"In the first half, there were things that we cannot say, especially in these days, and I heard that," he said. "So if someone wants to apologize to me, it should be in that moment, not in the end when you've won the game."

On the performance on the pitch, Lage said he was pleased with how they played, but noted the issue with converting chances.

"I think we did a good game," Lage said. "I think we were the better team, we created a lot of chances, and we didn't score. I'm happy with the performance, but not happy with the result.

"I said before the game that we came here with big confidence, and we'll score goals because the pre-season was good and we have confidence to play in this system. I was right to feel that confidence, and we continued to play."

The issue of converting definitely involves Hwang, who had a number of key misses for what should have at least been shots on target, if not goals. That struggle has continued since the second half of last season and is something the Korean attacker will need to overcome quickly if Wolves want to win some games this season.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Arsenal took a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, Bournemouth beat Aston Villa 2-0, Newcastle beat Nottingham Forest 2-0, Tottenham Hotspur beat Southampton 4-1 and Chelsea beat Everton 1-0. Leicester City is also set to face Brentford on Sunday, with Manchester United also due to take on Brighton and Manchester City set to play West Ham.

Wolves will play their next Premier League game against Fulham on Aug. 13.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]