Wolves’ Diogo Jota hits Europa League hat-trick to leave Espanyol flailing | Football

Diogo Jota scored his second successive Europa League hat-trick as Wolves took a large stride towards the last 16 with this convincing first-leg victory. The Portugal forward became the first player since Klass-Jan Huntelaar for Schalke in 2012 to score consecutive trebles in this competition but this game was also adorned with a memorable volley from Rúben Neves that deflated a depleted Espanyol who were threatening to make a game of it.

Wolves fans are still getting used to the structures of European football. “You’re going down with the Villa,” they chanted to their Spanish opponents as La Liga’s bottom side were dispatched with some ease.

After a modest run in which they had won only once in nine games, scoring just six goals, Wolves picked up where they left off in European combat in December when Jota’s treble against Besiktas rubber-stamped their place in the knockout stages.

Nuno Espírito Santo is a manager who specialises in dampening expectations. But he understands fans who are starting to wonder whether a club two years out of the Championship could actually win a European trophy. “They know me,” he said. “I’ve just been talking to the boys: now we have to recover, rest and prepare for Sunday [home to Norwich]. Then we can think about other things. But dreaming is for free.”

Wolves made only two changes, reverting to their strongest lineup but Espanyol retained only two players from the side who drew 2-2 at Sevilla as they made survival in La Liga their priority. Abelardo Fernández placed Sunday’s game away to Valladolid above this match. “In view of the delicate position in the league that is the priority but I still put out a team to get a result,” the manager said.

With Adama Traoré restored to the right flank, Jota won the nod to stay in the side on the left and soon rewarded Nuno’s faith. Traoré touched a corner back for the recalled João Moutinho, the cross came in promptly and Jota reacted slickly to Raúl Jiménez’s flick-on to volley home.

Nine of Jota’s 12 goals this season have come in this competition and he invariably makes a pest of himself for opposing defenders. How Ander Iturraspe was not dismissed for head-butting him two minutes before half-time after the pair grappled irritably after a throw-in only the referee, Tobias Stieler, and his VAR friends will know.

Facundo Ferreyra had missed an open opportunity to equalise, goalkeeper Rui Patrício making a total hash of volleying what he feared would be deemed a backpass from Jiménez, and early in the second half Lei Wu got free twice only to head wide.

In between, a goal of technical perfection appeared to settle this first leg. Neves does not score that many goals but when he does they tend to be spectacular. Traoré ran at Dídac Vilà and crossed towards the far post but Victor Gómez could not have suspected what was to follow as he headed away.

Neves got in front of his man, chested the ball gently down and unleashed such an aesthetically pleasing volley that many Wolves fans were on their feet celebrating even before the ball reached the back of the net.

Wolves could even afford to take off Traoré before Jota seemingly made the tie safe with two superbly-executed goals. Matt Doherty played a one-two with Leandro Dendoncker before threading a fine through pass for Jota to hold off Gómez and blast home at the near post.

Then nine minutes from time he ran diagonally at a tiring Espanyol defence before reversing a sure strike into the bottom corner. He was given a standing ovation as he was substituted and the Wolves fans acknowledged where they have come from as they sang “Thumbs up if you love Sir Jack” in memory of Jack Hayward, their benefactor of 30 years ago when this ground was crumbling. How their horizons are rising now.