Wolves 2-1 Aston Villa: Player ratings as hosts edge West Midlands derby
By Tom Gott
Aston Villa enjoyed a lot of possession but had some sloppy defending to blame as they were beaten 2-1 by Wolves on Saturday.
Against the run of play, Wolves opened the scoring after just six minutes. A counter-attack and two slips from John McGinn and Ezri Konsa gave the hosts a handful of shots, and after Daniel Podence and Ruben Neves' efforts were blocked, Jonny Otto made no mistake with his rebound.
Some more poor defending, this time from Tyrone Mings, had Fabio Silva through on goal immediately after, but the youngster's strike was comfortably saved by a grateful Emiliano Martinez.
Villa did eventually calm themselves down and their best chance of the first 45 came on the half-hour mark as Leon Bailey's long drive was impressively saved by the diving Jose Sa.
However, Wolves doubled their lead just a few minutes after when substitute Ashley Young found himself in all sorts of trouble defending a cross. Marcal's ball was a little too strong for Francisco Trincao but Young still couldn't figure out how to deal with it and ended up heading into his own net.
Trincao could have added a third on the stroke of half-time, but Young atoned for his earlier error with a glorious last-ditch challenge to keep the score 2-0 at the interval.
Ten minutes into the second half, Ollie Watkins had a superb chance to grab a goal back. He found himself one-on-one against Sa but couldn't stop his effort from curling outside the post.
Next it was Hwang Hee-chan's turn to miss the target. Some delightful footwork saw him earn a few yards for a shot but he dragged it wide of Martinez's post.
Both sides continued to go back and forth in search of that elusive third goal of the game. The excellent Fabio Silva almost found it with a lovely curling effort, but yet again, Martinez was equal to the effort.
Villa were handed a route back into the game with five minutes to go as Sa conceded a penalty for a clumsy collision with Watkins, who stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards to set up a tense finale to this game.
The goal didn't come, however. Tensions boiled over as the clock ticked on, with both sets of players clashing on two separate occasions. There were yellow cards aplenty, but Wolves held on for the three points.
Wolves player ratings
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Jose Sa (GK) - 6/10 - Not particularly busy but did everything he needed to.
Willy Boly (CB) - 7/10 - Some tough challenges and some impressive blocks. Didn't shy away from battling Mings at set-pieces.
Conor Coady (CB) - 6/10 - Booked early on but did well not to let that impact his game.
Max Kilman (CB) - 6/10 - Switched over to the left side of the defence for this one and handled the change well.
2. Midfielders
Jonny Otto (RM) - 7/10 - Took his goal very well and was a continued threat down the right side.
Leander Dendoncker (CM) - 7/10 - Fluffed a superb chance to score on the stroke of half-time but was otherwise imperious. Showed real grace on the ball.
Joao Moutinho (CM) - 8/10 - Absolutely ran the show in the absence of Ruben Neves. So classy in possession.
Marcal (LM) - 7/10 - What a cross for Young's own goal. Absolutely horrible to defend.
3. Forwards
Francisco Trincao (RW) - 7/10 - One of his better performances in a Wolves shirt. A massive, massive threat and deserved a goal or two.
Fabio Silva (ST) - 7/10 - His finishing touch still isn't there but Silva was hugely impressive with his link-up play. Like Harry Kane if Harry Kane couldn't shoot.
Daniel Podence (LW) - 6/10 - Some lovely passing moves with the rest of his attacking team-mates.
4. Substitutes
Hwang Hee-chan (LW, 67' for Podence) - 6/10 - Very lively and should have had a goal.
Pedro Neto (RW, 74' for Trincao) - 6/10 - Involved in the action straight away. Hopefully he's getting back to his best.
Chiquinho (ST, 90' for Silva) - N/A
Aston Villa player ratings
5. Goalkeeper & defenders
Emiliano Martinez (GK) - 5/10 - Not helped by some awful defending in front of him but didn't cover himself in glory either.
Matty Cash (RB) - 6/10 - Not his best performance but often left on an island by his team-mates.
Ezri Konsa (CB) - 5/10 - A fatal slip for the opener and looked a little shaky throughout.
Tyrone Mings (CB) - 4/10 - Not on it again. Looks really uncomfortable next to Konsa and it's hard to understand why.
Lucas Digne (LB) - N/A - Shaky early on before being forced off through injury.
6. Midfielders
Morgan Sanson (DM) - 6/10 - The shining light of this Villa performance. Was generally pretty good and had some nice moments on the ball.
John McGinn (CM) - 3/10 - Really not on it here. A needless slip for the first goal and was outplayed by Moutinho.
Jacob Ramsey (CM) - 4/10 - Definitely not one of his better performances. Struggled against Wolves' energy.
7. Forwards
Leon Bailey (RW) - 5/10 - A few really dangerous moments on the ball but just not enough.
Ollie Watkins (ST) - 5/10 - Put himself about a lot but couldn't really get into the game. Missed a sitter after the break but finally converted from the spot.
Philippe Coutinho (LW) - 4/10 - Supposed to be the star man to drag Villa through these games but was just as anonymous as anyone else.
8. Substitutes
Ashley Young (LB, 13' for Digne) - 5/10 - Poor defending for his own goal but a stunning tackle to make up for it soon after.
Douglas Luiz (DM, 72' for Sanson) - 5/10 - Didn't make much of an impact after his arrival. Some nice defending late on.
Emiliano Buendia (LW, 74' for Coutinho) - 6/10 - Villa's best player and he only managed 15 minutes.