Aston Villa 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers – Leander Dendoncker scores a 62nd minute goal to give Wolves a very important away win to close the gap on 4th place to 2 points as Aston Villa remain in big trouble in the relegation zone after taking just 2 points out of a possible 12 since the restart of the Premier League.
First half:
Like many games since the restart of the Premier League the first half of the midlands rivalry was rather cagey with both sides seeming reluctant to take a risk but it was Wolves who had the better of the half and the first slight opportunity when Raul Jimenez headed on Joao Moutinho’s free kick straight at Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland to keep the score 0-0 early on.
Wolves then continued to push for an opening goal when right back Matt Doherty ran through towards the Villa goal after a lucky break off an Aston Villa player; however, Doherty lashed his shot in to the side netting as Wolves once again failed to open the scoring but were certainly looking the more promising out of the two teams.
Aston Villa’s first proper slightly troubling attempt on the Wolves goal came from the main man Jack Grealish when the English midfielder’s attempt from outside the box was comfortably held by Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
The best opportunity in the first half for both sides came for the visitors Wolves when Aston Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland got away with an horrendous error when the Aston Villa goalkeeper’s attempt to throw the ball went horribly wrong however, luckily for Nyland Diogo Jota failed to capitalize and blasted the ball harmlessly over the crossbar in a huge let off for Aston Villa and goalkeeper Nyland as the first half would go on to end goalless.
Second half:
62 minutes in to this Midlands derby and it was the visitors Wolverhampton Wanderers who took the lead when Belgian midfielder Leander Dendoncker scored his first away goal of the season with a fantastic left footed finish right in the corner to give Wolves a priceless lead at Villa Park.
The rest of the second half had very little if any entertainment or chances of note to talk about as Wolverhampton Wanderers saw the game out comfortably to make it 3 wins out of 3 since the return of the Premier League as Aston Villa continued to struggle at the wrong end of the table with yet another below par performance.
Full time
Man of the match:
Leander Dendoncker – This might well have been the best performance that the Belgian midfielder has produced in a Wolves shirt as Dendoncker bossed the midfield and caused Aston Villa problems all game with a fantastic performance which was capped off with a wonderful goal to give Wolves yet another win.
Fascinating facts:
Wolves have now won 3 Premier League games in a row for the first time this season.
Wolves have now kept 7 clean sheets in their last 8 Premier League games.
Aston Villa have now gone 4 Premier League home games without a win which is their longest winless run at Villa Park all season.
This was the first time Leander Dendoncker has scored an away Premier League goal since a 1-3 away win at Everton in February 2019.
This is the first time Wolves have ever done a Premier League double over Aston Villa.
Talking points:
Wolves continue to push for a Champions League place –Wolves have been the form team since the return of Premier League with 3 wins out of 3 and not conceding a single goal in the process and are now only 2 points behind Chelsea in 4thplace despite the Blues having a game in hand things are certainly looking promising for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side going forward.
Aston Villa put in a toothless performance in Midlands derby – Things may have started well for Wolves since the return of the Premier League however the same can unfortunately be said for Aston Villa who have only take 2 points from a possible 12 available to them since the restart as Dean Smith’s side remain without a win since the return and the performance at home against Wolves would have been one to infuriate the Aston Villa faithful as the team barely laid a glove on Wolves throughout the 90 minutes.
Leander Dendoncker the hero in the Midlands derby – From the first whistle onwards this had the feel of a game that was going to need a great goal to win the game and that is exactly what happened on 62 minutes when Leander Dendoncker’s excellent left footed strike in to the corner gave Wolves the lead and that turned out to be enough to win the game for Wolves in what was a game of few chances for both.
Championship football next season looks increasingly likely for Aston Villa – Aston Villa who were promoted last season after beating Derby County in the Championship play-off final but unfortunately for Villa fans it looks like it might be a brief stay in the top flight after yet another disappointing result. Aston Villa have not won in 8 Premier League games and with many toothless performances since the restart it would be a surprise if that changed any time soon.
Is the Wolves defence underrated? Wolverhampton Wanderers have now kept 7 clean sheets in their previous 8 Premier League games with Conor Coady, Willy Boly, Romain Saiss, and goalkeeper Rui Patricio appearing in 6 of them 7 games where Wolves have kept a clean sheet, does this Wolves defence deserve just as much credit as Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore get given for their recent efforts?
Sam’s match reports 