Aston Villa 2-0 Wolves: Little trouble for Emery's fourth-place hosts
Aston Villa moved right back into the top four with a 2-0 win over Wolves at Villa Park on Saturday.
Villa got its first Premier League win since March 2 off goals from Moussa Diaby and Ezri Konsa, matching Spurs earlier win to reclaim fourth-place by three points with a match-in-hand on Tottenham.
WATCH ASTON VILLA vs WOLVES FULL MATCH REPLAY
The Villans were smacked 4-0 at home by Spurs before drawing 1-1 at West Ham before the international break, putting their top-four standing in peril, but overcame a slow start at Villa Park to control Saturday's proceedings.
Wolves have spent most of 2024 on the way up the table, but are now 10th with 41 points. Gary O'Neil's men fail to make up any of their three points behind seventh-place West Ham, yet a European place is still not out of the question with a strong stretch run.
Solid Villa will make it hard for top-four and -five rivals
There are more talented teams than Villa in the fight for a UEFA Champions League place, but is there even one who supplies the consistency and understanding of Unai Emery's men?
Yes, Spurs and Manchester United have the explosive star power to deliver moments and wins, and sure they may collect as many or more points than Villa by the end of this season, but at this point there's no worth arguing which team is prepared the best and executes most often.
It's Villa, by a nose over Spurs and a house over Man Utd. Wolves may have been taken apart by injuries to their attack this week, but Villa didn't leave any questions who were the superior side once the ball rolled between the two sides on Saturday. That's been happening many, many weeks this season.
Aston Villa vs Wolves player ratings (fotmob.com)
What’s next?
Wolves go to Burnley at 2:45pm ET Tuesday, while Villa's off to Aston Villa at 3:15pm Wednesday.
How to watch Aston Villa vs Wolves live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 1:30pm ET Saturday
TV Channel: NBC
Online: Watch live on NBC.com & Peacock Premium
Aston Villa vs Wolves final score: 2-0
Goalscorers: Diaby (36'), Konsa (65')
Aston Villa vs Wolves live updates — By Nick Mendola
Ezri Konsa goal! Aston Villa 2-0 Wolves
What a chip.
Ezri Konsa finds himself running out of real estate on the right side of the Wolves box and lofts an extraordinary and delicate chip over Jose Sa.
The ball gets just over the line while Wolves work out how to deal with it. Pretty.
Halftime — Aston Villa 1-0 Wolves
Wolves were so bright early but Villa adjusted and it's been all about the hosts over the final 30 minutes of the half.
Both teams had one truly dangerous moment and both missed, but Diaby's goal was beyond the realm of expected goals and has Villa set for a return to fourth place.
This game is very close.
Moussa Diaby goal! Aston Villa 1-0 Wolves
A well-worked free kick routine is sent to the left and delivered back to the top of the box.
Moussa Diaby runs into space and lashes a tremendous shot home for 1-0 with about 10 minutes left in the first half.
Emi Martinez denies Ait-Nouri
Wolves' wide man Rayan Ait-Nouri's at the back post when a cross is flicked to his feet.
A great first touch sets him up at the back post but he fires toward Emiliano Martinez, who makes a good save.
Should've scored? Definitely could've! Still scoreless after 15 minutes.
Offside denies Villa opener
Moussa Diaby slides Ollie Watkins through on goal.
Jose Sa makes a close-range save and the rebound is deposited in the goal but the flag is up and Watkins left early.
Close.
Wolves depth tested at hungry Villa Park
So many key attacking pieces are missing for Wolves, who start 18-year-old Leon Chiwome up top as Pedro Neto and Hee-chan Hwang miss out.
Villa Park knows Spurs have passed their heroes from the moment and they see the equal footing on matches played. This is to take fourth back, yeah, but it's also about giving Tottenham the feeling of lesser footing.
Aston Villa lineup
Martinez, Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Moreno, Tielmans, Luiz, Bailey, Diaby, Rogers, Watkins.
Wolves lineup
Sa, Kilman, S Bueno, Totti, Semedo, Gomes, Doyle, Lemina, Ait-Nouri, Sarabia, Chiwome.
Aston Villa focus, team news
OUT: John McGinn (suspension), Boubacar Kamara (torn ACL - out for season), Emiliano Buendia (torn ACL - out for season), Tyrone Mings (torn ACL - out for season) | QUESTIONABLE: Matty Cash (thigh), Jacob Ramsey (foot)
Wolves focus, team news
OUT: Pedro Neto (hamstring), Hee-chan Hwang (hamstring) | QUESTIONABLE: Craig Dawson (groin), Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (knee), Matheus Cunha (hamstring)
