Home sweet home. Aston Villa, whose unlikely surge into contention for Champions League qualification was built on their imperious record in front of their own supporters, regained that homely feeling and with it fourth place in the Premier League after Unai Emery recorded his first win over Wolves.
Goals from Moussa Diaby and Ezri Konsa allowed Villa, who had won only two of their previous six home games in all competitions after a scorching 2023 at Villa Park, to make light work of their West Midlands rivals.
Tottenham Hotspur had briefly borrowed fourth place but Villa overcame Wolves’ bright start to assert their superiority as the region’s biggest club. It might have been different if Rayan Aït-Nouri had scored from Wolves’ best chance of the game early on, but from the moment Diaby slammed home his goal, there only looked to be one winner.
Wolves’ mantle as the fourth best team since Christmas Eve – only Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool had accrued more than their 22 points coming into this weekend – is somewhat beguiling considering how stretched their squad is now looking.
The pre-match history suggested Wolves could take this but injuries suggested otherwise. With Matheus Cunha not ready to return till this coming week after a hamstring injury, Gary O’Neil’s lack of options at centre-forward prompted him to give a Premier League debut to Leon Chiwome, who scored England Under-18s’ clinching goal against the Netherlands in midweek.
With no Pedro Neto or Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, let alone a recognised No 9, Wolves could have gone been forgiven for accepting a mid-table finish and a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals represents a good season and getting ready for the summer.
Instead, in keeping with their good record against teams in the top five this season, they were the better side for the first quarter of the game. After Douglas Luiz had an effort chalked off for offside against Ollie Watkins, Wolves should have gone ahead.
Santiago Bueno, again deputising for the injured Craig Dawson at centre-back, crossed from the right wing and, after a slight deflection, the ball arrived at the feet of Rayan Aït-Nouri. The Algerian left-back has been outstanding under O’Neil, freed up to play to his maverick strengths, but, having scored in Wolves’ last two games, he had time to control the ball but still allowed Emiliano Martínez to save with his feet.
The pressure was on Villa. Tottenham’s late winner against Luton earlier in the day had briefly edged them out of fourth place by the tightest of margins and Emery was seeking his first win against Wolves as a manager. Indeed, the visitors were unbeaten in seven Premier League visits here, dating back to 2003.
Villa’s home form has also been unconvincing recently. Having started the Premier League season with eight successive wins here, they had won only two of the last six home games in all competitions.
They started to realise Wolves were not invincible however. Watkins, released by Youri Tielemans’ excellent through ball, maintained his composure in running down the inside-left channel only to fire into the near side-netting.
after newsletter promotion
Pau Torres found space but could only divert his header into José Sá’s grasp. Then, nine minutes before the interval, came the breakthrough. From Douglas Luiz’s straight free-kick down the left, Leon Bailey slammed in a first-time volleyed cross that deflected out for Diaby to come in and power home his eighth goal of the season.
Quick GuideHow do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?
Show
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
The relief rang around Villa Park. At half-time they celebrated the 30th anniversary of the League Cup final win and, at intervals throughout the game, the big screen homed in on past and sidelined heroes up in the stands, from Juan Pablo Ángel to John McGinn, suspended for this game, and Tyrone Mings, out for the season so far with a serious knee injury.
Villa was feeling more like home. Sure enough, with their superior strength in depth, Emery’s side were able to introduce proven international quality rather than inexperienced tyros as Wolves tired.
Midway through the second half the Holte End was in full song, and the rest of the ground joined in. Nicolò Zaniolo and Konsa won the ball off Tommy Doyle and the former gambolled forward before inviting Diaby to feed Konsa on the overlap. Although the newly-capped England defender may have mishit his cross, it looped over Sa, bounced off a post and was adjudged to have crossed the line before Jhon Durán and Bueno played pinball.