Wolves midfielder Fer Lopez has scooped the EFL 'Goal Hero of the Month' award for his matchwinner in September's fiercely contested Black Country derby.
The 22-year-old pounced on Nat Phillips' ill-judged pass to dink the ball over the impressive Max O'Leary and wheeled away to employ Matheus Cunha's famous celebration from the clubs' FA Cup meeting in 2024.
First league derby win in 15 years
It was the first Black Country derby since that combustible FA Cup tie, and the first in the league since 2021, though that was when both sides were in the Premier League. Lopez's goal earned the hosts their first league victory in the fixture for 15 years.
Speaking after receiving the award, he said: "It's a crazy stat. It was a very important game for the fans, and we did half of the job - we need to do the other half when we play them away. I knew the importance of the game before we played, and the day before I started thinking that it would be such an honour winning and scoring the goal.
"It was a very special moment. Before the game, an official showed me a video of Cunha that I hadn't seen, and I told him that if I scored I had to do that too. Wolves is a very historical club, they've got trophies, they've been in the first football league It was an established club in the Premier League. They were there eight years in a row, so that was a shame going down, but we have to go straight back up again."
Award celebrates goals with special stories
The new monthly award created by Compare the Market in partnership with The EFL celebrates the most memorable goals that have special stories behind them.
His 50th minute goal proved the difference in the 1-0 victory and sent Wolves fourth in the Championship as they eye a return to the big time at the first time of asking.
West Brom goalkeeper O'Leary had been imperious throughout the match but stood no chance against Lopez's quick thinking.
He said: "I think [the finish] was the easy part. The difficult part was to go one step ahead, to go half a second before and anticipate the pass. It was also a mistake from them, but when I had the ball there, I never thought I was going to miss."
Lopez finds his stride after loan return
Having joined from Celta Vigo in 2025, Lopez didn't settle into the starting 11 immediately, even going on loan back to the Spanish club for the second half of last season. But he has hit his stride in supreme fashion in the Championship, notching four goals in his first seven games.
He said: "At the beginning it was very difficult, because I was living in Spain with such a different lifestyle with my family and everything. I came here for the first time, and it was difficult being by myself adapting to the culture and English football.
"I think that made me grow, that made me stronger. I needed minutes but I couldn't get them here, so I had to go somewhere else to get them. That was the most important thing because I know that if I play, I get experience and I will improve, and that's what happened."
