Wolves vs Aston Villa: Bruno Lage’s side staked a two-goal lead for themselves before holding on for dear life and a 2-0 victory at Molineux Stadium on Saturday.
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Jonny Otto fired the hosts ahead after seven minutes, and Ashley Young doubled their advantage with an incredibly unlucky own goal in the 36th. Ollie Watkins pulled one back and gave Aston Villa hope that an equalizer could be had, but Wolves held firm for their third win in four Premier League games.
The victory sends Wolves (49 points) above West Ham United (48 points) for 7th in the Premier League table (European qualification), though the Hammers now have a game in hand. As for Aston Villa (36 points - 9th place), they are level with Leicester City and Southampton in the almighty battle for a top-half finish.
Wolves vs Aston Villa final score, stats, results
Final score: Wolves 2, Aston Villa 1
Goal scorers: Wolves (Jonny 7', Young 36' - OG), Aston Villa (Watkins 86' - PK)
Shots: Wolves 11, Aston Villa 15
Shots on target: Wolves 4, Aston Villa 5
Possession: Wolves 49%, Aston Villa 51%
2 things we learned - Wolves vs Aston Villa
1. Wolves out-work Villa in dominant first half: Aston Villa were dominated for the entirety of the first half, as Wolves defended on the front foot with an aggressive, but not overly high, press. They won 12 of 13 tackles attempted in the first half, and they got even contributions from virtually everyone on the field: only one player, center back and captain Conor Coady, failed to win a tackle in the first half. Wolves do the majority of their attacking damage on the counter-attack, which is set up perfectly by their winning of the ball in advantageous areas.
2. Inconsistency holding Aston Villa back: Player by player, there’s a strong case to be made that Aston Villa have the second-most talented squad (Leicester) in the mid-table battle. When they hit their peaks, they’re beyond brilliant to watch. When they come out flat, they hardly look like they belong in the Premier League. Three straight wins last month saw them score nine goals while conceding zero. Since then? Two goals scored and five conceded, in three straight defeats.
Wolves vs Aston Villa highlights
Jonny cleans up goal-mouth scramble to give Wolves an early lead (goal video)
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