Wolves 1 Werder Bremen 0 - Report and pictures

Nouha Dicko made the difference with a smart finish just after half time in a game of very few chances, writes Tim Spiers at Parkstadion Zell am Ziller in Austria.

Nuno unveiled a new 3-4-3 formation which worked well for the most part. Jack Price, Romain Saiss and new record signing Ruben Neves - who came on for the last half an hour - all enjoyed productive evenings from central midfield, while fellow new boy Barry Douglas also impressed in what was an understated but hard-fought Wolves victory.

When the team sheets came in it was unclear what formation Wolves would be utilising but then began with Conor Coady in a shock centre half spot, with Danny Batth and Willy Boly either side of him.

Matt Doherty and Douglas play as right and left wing backs respectively with wingers Ivan Cavaleiro and Michal Zyro supporting Bright Enobakhare.

Werder Bremen's Bundesliga campaign begins two weeks after Wolves' Championship opener against Middlesbrough and it showed in the first half, with Wolves enjoying the better of a fluid contest that wasn't helped by a bumpy and patchy pitch.

Cavaleiro looked sharp in the early stages and he had a decent chance after six minutes when rounding the keeper, but a heavy touch took the ball out.

Matt Doherty drilled at the keeper when in on the right and Boly was so close to scoring but somehow put his header from Douglas' corner over from inside the six yard box.

Bremen defender Ulisses Garcia smacked one from distance for Bremen which Burgoyne struggled to collect, but the ball bounced off him but to Coady who cleared.

That was it for goalmouth action in the first half, with both teams understandably lacking in fluency.

Wolves, though, impressed with some of their build up play, particularly Price through whom the majority of moves went through.

Douglas looked tidy on the left and man mountain Boly and skipper Batth were aggressive either side of the incredibly vocal Coady who looked assured at centre half and constantly barked instructions and encouragement to his team mates.

Nuno made eight changes at half time with only Coady Doherty and Saiss keeping their places.

Connor Ronan was among those introduced and he made an almost instant impact in setting up the opening goal of the game.

A sublime crossfield pass reached Matt Doherty, he played to Nouha Dicko who drilled a low finish into the corner from the right of the box.

The game continued to be played at a gentle pace - and then came the arrival of £15million record signing Ruben Neves, who replaced Saiss. Full back Aaron Simpson, who joined the squad in Austria earlier in the day, also came on for Doherty just before the hour mark.

Chances were at a premium and Bremen rarely troubled the Wolves goal other than a couple of long range shots which John Ruddy, another to make his debut, handled.

Neves settled in alongside new captain David Edwards, making some difficult passes look easy. But Wolves failed to create another chance for the rest of the half, despite some more good interplay in midfield, and nearly let their lead slip when Austrian international Zlatko Junuzovic smacked a 20-yard free kick against the top of John Ruddy's bar.

A late deflected shot into the ground bounced just over the bar - and then again, remarkably, Junuzovic clipped a free kick against the bar from an almost identical position with just a couple of minutes to go.

But Wolves held on for a morale-boosting victory from Nuno's first ever game as boss.

Teams:

Wolves first half (3-4-3): Burgoyne; Batth, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Price, Saiss, Douglas; Zyro, Enobakhare, Cavaleiro.

Wolves second half (3-4-3): John Ruddy; Bennett, Coady, Miranda; Doherty (Simpson, 59), Edwards, Saiss (Neves, 59) Deslandes; Ronan, Dicko, Mason.

Goal: Dicko (50)