Ten years of Fosun: Triumphs from takeover to Europe
Throughout this month, the Express & Star are building up to the 10-year anniversary of Fosun buying Wolves with a series of articles detailing the Chinese conglomerate's ownership of the Black Country club.
Wolves embarked on a remarkable rise during the first part of the Fosun era.
They rose from the Championship to the Premier League and all the way to the Europa League over the course of just three years.
And here, we reflect on the highs of those special years for the Old Gold.
2018: Championship title
Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed manager just one-year into the Fosun era in 2017 and a number of key players arrived that summer - including Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota and Willy Boly.
Wolves clinched the Championship with a staggering 99 points and finished nine clear of second-placed Cardiff City.
They won promotion to the Premier League with four games to spare and sealed the league title courtesy of a 4-0 triumph at Bolton Wanderers on April 21, 2018.
2019: FA Cup semi-finals
Espirito Santo guided Wolves to the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 21 years in 2018-19.
Goals from Jimenez and Neves secured a 2-1 third victory over Liverpool at Molineux, before Wolves edged past Shrewsbury Town following a replay.
They dispatched Bristol City 1-0 and produced a dramatic 2-1 victory over Manchester United, after goals from Jimenez and Jota earned them a place at Wembley.
In a thrilling semi-final at Wembley, Wolves went 2-0 ahead inside 62 minutes through Matt Doherty and Jimenez.
But Gerard Deulofeu halved the deficit and Troy Deeney forced extra-time from the spot, before Deulofeu grabbed his brace and the match-winner in the 104th-minute.
2020: Europa League quarter-finals
Watford went on to lose 6-0 against Manchester City in the final, which meant Wolves qualified for Europe for the first time in 40 years.
The Hornets’ final heartbreak led to the third European spot being reverted to Wolves following their seventh-place finish.
Wolves had to overcome three qualifying rounds in order to reach the group stage - beating Crusaders (6-1 on aggregate), Pyunik (8-0 on aggregate) and Torino (5-3 on aggregate).
They finished second in Group K after substitute Jota’s 12-minute hat-trick propelled them to a 4-0 victory over Besitkas in their final group game.
Jota repeated the feat with another treble in a 4-0 success over Espanyol in the round of 32. They lost 3-2 in the away leg, but progressed to the last 16 on aggregate.
The Old Gold drew 1-1 at Olympiacos in the first leg, but would have to wait another five months to play the second leg due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as Raul Jimenez scored from the spot after nine minutes in a 1-0 win at Molineux.
The competition was completed in Germany as Jimenez missed from 12 yards in their one-legged quarter-final tie against Sevilla, which saw Lucas Ocampos score the match-winner two minutes from time.
Giant killers
Upon their return to the Premier League, Wolves carved out a strong reputation for taking points off the ‘Big Six’.
They collected four points from Chelsea, Arsenal and Man United in 2018-19 and also won 3-1 at Tottenham Hotspur in late December.
That was alongside FA Cup wins over Liverpool and Man United during the same season.
Wolves then did the double over defending champions Manchester City the following campaign.
Two late strikes from Adama Traore sunk Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad Stadium in October 2019 and secured Wolves’ first win at Man City since 1979.
Two months later, Wolves came from two goals down to beat Man City 3-2 at Molineux courtesy of goals from Traore, Jimenez and Doherty.
They also twice fought back against Tottenham to win by the same score-line in March 2020.
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