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
Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina has dedicated his goal and man-of-the-match performance against Chelsea to his father.
The Gabon international opened the scoring for Gary O'Neil's side before Matt Doherty doubled the lead in a 2-1 win.
Lemina revealed in a post-match that his father spent two months in hospital with an illness before collecting the man-of-the-match award from teammate Doherty.
'By the way, I wanted to pass on a message to my father. He has been in hospital for two months now,β an emotional Lemina told Sky Sports.
'He is going through a very difficult time and my family is now supporting him. I wanted to be with him, but I have to do my job.
'Daddy – Keep pushing! We're all together.'
Gabonese midfielder Mario Lemina has 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'Neil praised Lemina and midfield partner Joao Gomes after the win
Lemina opened the score at Molineux six minutes after halftime with a header from a corner: his third competition goal of the season.
Doherty doubled Wolves' lead with a close-range finish in stoppage time after a mistake by Chelsea defender Benoit Badishile.
The hosts were given a shock when Christopher Nkunku headed in his first goals for the visitors on his Premier League debut, but he managed to see out the match.
O'Neil praised Lemina and midfield partner Joao Gomes after the match. He said: βIt was an incredible performance from both of them.
βWe know Mario is capable of big, big performances. Physically he was incredible and he led the team well and made good decisions with the ball. It was a top-level performance from midfield.
'Joao, for a boy his age to achieve such a feat, it was a big achievement. Apart from being tackled by Sterling with the whole team in front of him, his performance was impeccable.β
Wolves are now level with Chelsea in 11th place and will be back in action against Brentford on Wednesday evening.