Wolverhampton Wanderers needed someone to save them, and Raúl Jiménez answered the call with 93 minutes on the clock. The veteran Mexican striker stepped up from the penalty spot to cancel out Blackburn Rovers' stoppage-time lead and earn a 2-2 draw in the Championship's opening day fixture at Molineux on Thursday evening.
It was the kind of moment that defines a season's early character. For Wolves, spending their first campaign outside the Premier League in recent memory, a comeback point felt like a statement — however ragged the route to it.
Wolves started brightly. Marshall Munetsi broke the deadlock on 18 minutes, finishing coolly after a perfectly-weighted pass from Fer Lopez split Blackburn's defensive line. The home crowd was buzzing, the quality showing early.
Then Blackburn found a way back. Sean McLoughlin equalised against the run of play, timing his run to glance a Ryoya Morishita cross into the far corner. And when Andri Gudjohnsen put the visitors ahead, Blackburn looked set to steal the points.
Manager Cesar Peixoto had introduced Jiménez from the bench in the 60th minute. He worked hard, creating chances before fate placed the game's pivotal moment at his feet deep in added time. He sent the goalkeeper the wrong way. Molineux erupted.
Character shown, but work still needed
A home draw with Blackburn is not the platform Wolves wanted. There were real positives — Munetsi's movement, Lopez's creativity, Jiménez's composure under pressure — but too many defensive lapses that better Championship sides will punish. The division is relentless. Whether Wolves can tighten up at the back will be the question this season turns on.
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