Bruno Lage hails 'Moroccan Maldini' Romain Saiss
Wolves boss Bruno Lage has heaped praise on Romain Saiss after his winner at Brighton, insisting: "That's why everyone knows him as Maldini from Morocco."
Saiss struck on the stroke of half-time, with his well-placed volley sealing a 1-0 victory over the Seagulls.
And Lage, after Wolves' first triumph in five Premier League games, likened the 31-year-old stalwart to Italy and AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini.
"When our strikers didn't score, Saiss appeared. That's why everyone knows him as Maldini from Morocco," said Lage.
"He deserves it because he's doing a good season.
"Sometimes we talk about (Conor) Coady, sometimes we talk about Max (Kilman), but he deserved that goal.
"He had a big chance to score against Man United. He then scored against Aston Villa and could have scored twice today.
"He's there every time, working hard and trying to improve his game. Credit for him because he deserved it."
Wolves were sluggish for large parts of the first half before Saiss found the net.
They improved considerably in the second period but failed to finish several chances.
Brighton - who had been hit by Covid and injuries in the build-up and had even asked top-flight chiefs about the possibility of postponing the match - then could not find a way past Wolves' robust defence.
Lage will have to assess Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hwang Hee-chan after the pair picked up knocks at the Amex Stadium.
The Wolves chief added on the performance: "Brighton did very well in the first 20 minutes.
"We were losing the ball, but we found our moment and started to balance the game. We scored our goal.
"We started very well in the second half and created a lot of chances.
"We pressed and got the three points in our pocket."
