Wolverhampton Wanderers were held to a 2-2 draw by Birmingham City at St. Andrews on Sunday, picking up their second stalemate of the Championship season.
The Old Gold twice took the lead in a chaotic match that featured a stunning volley, a horrendous own goal, and a glaring late miss that could have settled the contest.
Cesar Peixoto’s side now sit ninth in the Championship table after winning two, drawing two, and losing one of their opening five matches in the second tier.
Peixoto will demand more consistency from his squad if Wolves are to mount a serious promotion challenge and return to the Premier League at the first opportunity.
The game burst into life after just three minutes when Raul Jimenez teed up Rodrigo Gomes, who fired the ball across the box for Fer Lopez to convert from close range.
Birmingham levelled when Jay Stansfield punished central midfielder Andre for failing to track his run, scoring a spectacular volley in the 22nd minute to make it 1-1.
Ladislav Krejci restored Wolves’ advantage nine minutes later with a thunderous header, getting ahead of his marker to thump the ball firmly into the back of the net.
Just five minutes after Krejci’s goal, Jackson Tchatchoua attempted a back pass to Jose Sa but volleyed the ball past his own goalkeeper to gift Birmingham an equaliser.
Adam Armstrong then spurned a golden opportunity to win it late on, blazing his shot way over the bar with only James Beadle to beat after being squared the ball inside the box.
Despite the contributions of Stansfield, Patrick Roberts, and Jose Sa, it was Lopez who emerged as the standout performer across both teams on an action-packed afternoon.
The Spanish attacking midfielder scored the opening goal, created the best chance of the match, and won four fouls to consistently relieve pressure on his side throughout the ninety minutes.
Lopez was left on the floor in disbelief when his slotted pass across to Armstrong should have produced the winning goal but instead resulted in a wild shot over the bar.
Across just five Championship appearances, Lopez has scored three goals, created ten chances, produced two big chances, and registered two assists, demonstrating remarkable quality and consistency.
The left-footed star spent the second half of last season on loan at Celta Vigo before dropping down to the Championship with Wolves, where he already looks a cut above the level.
Comparisons with Ruben Neves are beginning to surface, with the legendary Portuguese midfielder having starred in Wolves’ title-winning 2017/18 Championship campaign with six goals and six big chances created from midfield.
Lopez is now drawing similar admiration as the player capable of elevating Wolves above the rest of the division, much as Neves did nearly a decade ago.
On the evidence of five matches, the 22-year-old is firmly on course to become the Championship’s next dominant creative force and the driving engine behind Wolves’ promotion push.