Wolves star wins EFL ‘Goal Hero’ award - and celebrates with famous meerkat
The Wolves star has been crowned the EFL‘a ‘Goal Hero’ after his Black Country derby moment.
Wolves star Fer Lopez has been crowned September’s Goal Hero of the Month after his winner in the Black Country derby - and celebrated with a famous meerkat.
Lopez etched his name into Wolves folklore with his 50th-minute strike at Molineux last month, securing a famous victory over Albion - the club’s first home derby win since 2011.
The goal has earned the Spaniard the EFL’s Goal Hero of the Month award, which celebrates the “most memorable and impactful goals” across the Championship, League One and League Two.
And the award came with an unusual guest appearance, as Lopez was presented with his prize by Aleksandr, Compare the Market’s iconic meerkat.
The forward beamed for the cameras alongside the furry mascot after receiving the accolade at Wolves’ Compton training ground, with Compare the Market partnering the award.
Reflecting on his derby moment, Lopez said: “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 (celebration) 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.”
Wolves had been unable to find a way past Albion goalkeeper Max O’Leary, who produced several impressive saves, before pressure on the visitors’ defence finally told shortly after the break.
Nat Phillips’ error presented Lopez with his opportunity, and the Spaniard made no mistake, sending the Molineux faithful into delirium. And Lopez recreated Matheus Cunha’s celebration from Wolves’ derby win in 2024 at The Hawthorns.
He added: “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.”
Having joined from Celta Vigo in 2025, Lopez didn’t settle into the Wolves 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 so far, 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.”
Each month, The EFL and Compare the Market will reveal the winner of the Goal Hero of the Month as decided by an expert panel that includes former EFL striker, Robert Earnshaw. As well as this monthly celebration of the EFL’s most memorable goals, fans have the chance to win a range of EFL rewards across the season via the Compare the Market app.