Willy Boly's exceptional season for Wolverhampton Wanderers continued last weekend, as he put in yet another accomplished showing vs. a staunch Birmingham City.
In what was arguably a man of the match performance by the hulking French stopper, Boly undertook his responsibilities with tremendous authority, conviction and assuredness.
Defensively, he was at his robust best, using his pace to track runs in behind or cover a blown marking assignment by a teammate, while also showing impeccable judgment when to respond to a pressing trigger (like when his man received possession with his back to goal or in an open body posture) by stepping up and applying ferocious pressure. A powerful figure in aerial confrontations and when competing in battles of strength, the 27-year-old hardly missed a beat in this regard either.
The 191cm destroyer's monumental impact on this side of the game was duly illustrated by the fact he successfully completed seven clearances, two interceptions, one blocked shot, one tackle, plus won a staggering six headers.
Enter the attacking end, and the FC Porto loanee had a similarly profound impact, where his purposeful, penetrative and imaginative passing proved integral in instigating so many of his team's offensive forays.
By splitting wide into the left half space when Wolves built out from the back, he put himself into advantageous positions to use his crafty dribbling to charge freely upfield and pinpoint a colleague. Seeing as Birmingham's first line of pressure consisted of just two men, was centrally focused and easy to manipulate, Wolves accordingly made the most of their 3v2 numerical superiority.
Boly was a chief beneficiary of this, for he had oceans of space to push into out wide, where he could then push up and look to provoke a pressing action from a Birmingham midfielder, something that would consequently free up or open a passing lane to a teammate. Another key to him having such sizeable space to use came through Barry Douglas pinning his marker, thus ensuring Boly had even more room to surge into to play incisive deliveries into Wolves’ dangerous attackers.
Importantly, most of his passes were hit diagonally into their recipient's feet, which had the key byproduct of causing Birmingham's defensive structure to shift both vertically and horizontally, therefore opening up exploitable vacant spaces in ball near areas.
Boly's involvement was definitely key in this phase of the game, as his composure, execution and confidence saw him complete an impressive 91.9% of his passes and cause major structural issues for the Blues.
Just days after his outstanding exertions, it was great to see Boly deservedly named in the PFA Championship team of the year, alongside Wolves goalkeeper John Ruddy and star midfielder Ruben Neves. In addition, another huge positive came in the form of Wolves reportedly appearing close to snapping him up on a permanent deal from Porto for a reasonable £10 million.
On their way to the Premier League having played some scintillating football under Nuno Espirito Santo's tutelage, Boly's unquestionably been an indispensable component towards their remarkable success this season.
