Wolves had to show patience in the buildup to this game because of a delay to their flight to Turkey on Wednesday, and the same virtue was required once a tense match began, with Willy Boly pouncing to claim a precious victory in the third minute of stoppage time.
The dramatic finale earned three points that go a long way towards atoning for the home defeat against Braga in their first group match. But Nuno Espírito Santo was not minded to revel in this last-gasp win, suggesting that the duel with Besiktas had been uncomfortably fraught.
“We won but the performance must be much better,” he said, indicating that he remains unsatisfied with his team’s form despite achieving this victory on the back of Saturday’s win over Watford, their first in the Premier League this season. “Why did some of the players not perform so well? We must find out why, this is my obsession.”
It was heartening to hear him recognise that all was not perfect when others might have taken the easy option of describing this as a textbook away win in Europe, the decisive goal coming after Wolves absorbed a lot of pressure. Wolves at their best would not have been run so close by a team as limited as Besiktas, who are struggling domestically and short of top talent. Even the atmosphere was not as fearsome as billed, with the hosts’ travails leaving them unable to attract a full house.
Besiktas began by dominating possession and Wolves seemed content to just fend them off. By the 20th minute Besiktas had created so little that the home fans began to barrack them for passing sideways. It was music to Wolves’ ears.
Wolves could have made the home side panic. Instead they were too circumspect, effectively inviting Besiktas to regain courage and attack. Jeremain Lens began to worry Jonny Otto down the right, while Adem Ljajic darted about between the lines and chinks of vulnerability began to appear in the Wolves defence.
The home side nearly broke through before the break. Mohamed Elneny, the midfielder on loan from Arsenal, tried to reintroduce himself to the Premier League side by scoring from six yards, but his header from a corner by Ljajic flew over the bar.
Just before half-time another corner caused even more trouble, with a deflection leading Conor Coady to slice it towards his own goal. The defender was grateful to see the ball bounce out off a post before he blocked Dorukhan Tokoz’s follow-up.
By half-time Wolves had failed to test the reliability of Besiktas’s other player on loan from the Premier League, with Liverpool’s Loris Karius practically a spectator, albeit not as loud as the ones now cranking up the volume in the home crowd.
Nuno tried to push his team on the front foot by putting on Adama Traoré for Pedro Neto. That did give Wolves more impetus, but Besiktas were the first to threaten after the break, Caner Erkin forcing a save from Rui Patrício from long range. That was the game’s first shot on target.
Wolves soon mustered an effort of their own, albeit without troubling Karius, as Raúl Jiménez headed over a free-kick by João Moutinho. On the hour Boly met a corner from the right but headed over from six yards. With the game opening up, Domagoj Vida flashed a header inches wide in the 68th minute.
In the final 10 minutes Patrick Cutrone, on as a substitute for Jiménez, fired wide of the far post after being released by a counterattack.
Wolves thought they had snatched victory in the dying minutes when Romain Saïss turned the ball into the net from close range after a header from a corner had been spilled. The linesman ruled it out for offside and with VAR not being used in the Europa League group stages there was no prospect of the decision being overruled.
No matter, Wolves did the business themselves, securing victory in stoppage time when Boly fired home at the back post.