Mario Lemina urges his dad to ‘keep fighting’ as the Wolves midfielder emotionally dedicates his goal and man-of-the-match performance against Chelsea to his ill father in hospital
Wolverhampton midfielder Mario Lemina dedicated his goal and performance against Chelsea to his father.
The Gabon international opened the scoring for Gary O’Neill’s side before Matt Doherty doubled their lead in a 2-1 win.
Lemina revealed after the match that his father was hospitalized with illness for two months before receiving the man of the match award from teammate Doherty.
— By the way, I wanted to convey a message to my father. He has been in the hospital for two months,” an emotional Lemina told Sky Sports.
“He’s fighting really hard and now my family is there for him. I wanted to be with him, but I need to do my job.
‘Dad, keep insisting! We are all together”.
Gabonese midfielder Mario Lemina dedicated his goal against Chelsea to his sick father
Wolves moved level on points with Sunday’s visitors after beating them 2-1 at Molineux.
Gary O’Neill praised Lemina and his midfield partner Joao Gomez after the win
Lemina opened the scoring at Molineux with a header from a corner six minutes after the break – his third league goal of the season.
Doherty doubled Wolves’ lead by scoring from close range in stoppage time after an error by Chelsea defender Benoit Badishile.
The home side were given a scare when Christopher Nkunku scored for the visitors on his Premier League debut but managed to see out the game.
After the match, O’Neill praised Lemina and his midfield partner Joao Gomez. He said: “It was an incredible performance from both of them.
“We know Mario is capable of big, big performances. Physically he was incredible and led the team well, making good decisions with the ball. This was the best midfield performance.
“Joao, for a guy his age to be able to put on a performance like that, it was a big performance. Apart from Sterling hitting the ball with the whole team in front of him, his performance was flawless.”
Wolves are currently level on points with 11th-place Chelsea and will return to action on Wednesday night against Brentford.