Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa

Aston Villa fell to defeat against Wolves in the Premier League at Molineux on Saturday evening.  

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde netted the opener after 12 minutes, latching onto a through ball and lashing a shot past Emi Martínez from a tight angle.

The hosts enjoyed the better of the first half, but they had to be strong defensively to withstand an improved showing from Unai Emery’s team after the break.

Donyell Malen, one of four half-time substitutes, saw a goal ruled out in hotly-contested circumstances as Villa pushed for a route back into the game.

Wolves keeper José Sá saved his side twice in the final minutes, denying Malen with a pair of saves before Matheus Cunha drilled home in stoppage time to seal the win for his team.

Following the exertions of Wednesday’s thrilling Champions League victory against Celtic, Emery freshened his side up by handing a debut to January signing Andrés García and bringing John McGinn back into the starting XI.

However, after a bright start from the visitors, Wolves put together a slick move and hit the front with their first attack of the game after 11 minutes.

Pablo Sarabia slid a through ball into the path of Bellegarde, who drilled a first-time shot past Martínez with the angle against him.  

As is the way every time these two clubs meet, the match was played in a fiercely competitive spirit with neither side wanting to give an inch as the first half wore on.

However, it was the home team who came close to adding to their advantage when Cunha led a breakaway and fired at goal. Martínez was equal to his effort and the rebound was pulled wide by Goncalo Guedes.

The Portuguese forward had another sight of goal just before the break, but he again missed the target with a low drive after he’d sprung the offside trap and been played through by Bellegarde.

Wolves continued to hunt a second as the first half ticked into stoppage time, with Guedes latching onto Cunha’s through ball and seeing his shot smothered by Villa’s goalkeeper.

Emery made four changes in response to a lethargic half from his charges, introducing Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Malen and Leon Bailey for Jacob Ramsey, García, Ollie Watkins and Lucas Digne.

The personnel switch sparked Villa into life offensively, and they saw a goal ruled out for offside nine minutes after the restart.

A smart free-kick routine saw McGinn collect a short pass and tee up Malen for a tap in at the back post, but Morgan Rogers was in an offside position and deemed to be interfering with play.

Bailey saw an effort blocked shortly after as Villa penned their opponents inside their own half, but for all their probing, they were struggling to create clear-cut opportunities.

At the other end, Cunha sent a free-kick whistling just over the crossbar as Wolves reminded the visitors of their attacking threat as the game moved into the final ten minutes.

With five minutes left to play, Malen worked space for a shot on the edge of the box and saw his powerful drive parried away by Sá.

Wolves’ keeper came to his side’s rescue once again soon after to keep out Malen with his legs after Youri Tielemans had played the Dutchman in.

And with Villa committing men forward in search of an equaliser, Cunha capitalised by finishing off a counter-attack and drilling the ball beyond Martínez to seal the win for his side.