Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa Live Commentary & Result, 06/05/2023, Premier League

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	MCI Manchester City	38	28	5	5	94	33	+61	89	L D W W W
2	ARS Arsenal	38	26	6	6	88	43	+45	84	W L L W W
3	MUN Manchester United	38	23	6	9	58	43	+15	75	W W W W L
4	NEW Newcastle United	38	19	14	5	68	33	+35	71	D D W D L
5	LIV Liverpool	38	19	10	9	75	47	+28	67	D D W W W
6	BHA Brighton & Hove Albion	38	18	8	12	72	53	+19	62	L D W L W
7	AVL Aston Villa	38	18	7	13	51	46	+5	61	W D W L L
8	TOT Tottenham Hotspur	38	18	6	14	70	63	+7	60	W L L W L
9	BRE Brentford	38	15	14	9	58	46	+12	59	W W W L W
10	FUL Fulham	38	15	7	16	55	53	+2	52	L D W W L
11	CRY Crystal Palace	38	11	12	15	40	49	-9	45	D D W L W
12	CHE Chelsea	38	11	11	16	38	47	-9	44	D L L D W
13	WOL Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	11	8	19	31	58	-27	41	L D L W L
14	WHU West Ham United	38	11	7	20	42	55	-13	40	L W L W L
15	BOU AFC Bournemouth	38	11	6	21	37	71	-34	39	L L L L W
16	NFO Nottingham Forest	38	9	11	18	38	68	-30	38	D W D W L
17	EVE Everton	38	8	12	18	34	57	-23	36	W D L W D
18	LEI Leicester City	38	9	7	22	51	68	-17	34	W D L L D
19	LEE Leeds United	38	7	10	21	48	78	-30	31	L L D L L
20	SOU Southampton	38	6	7	25	36	73	-37	25	D L L L L

That's all for today, goodbye!

It's a huge win for Wolves as it lifts them up to the 40-point mark and pretty much confirms their Premier League status for next season. They move up to 13th and turn their attention to a visit to Manchester United next weekend. That's back-to-back defeats for Villa in the league as they stay in eighth. They host Tottenham next time out.

Wolves hold on to beat Aston Villa 1-0. The only goal of the game came just nine minutes in with the first shot as Neves' corner was thumped in off the underside of the bar by Toti. After that, Villa dominated, with Sa making saves to keep out Buendia, Watkins and Traore. After the break, Martinez stopped Costa from doubling Wolves' lead before Villa picked up the pace again. Mings and Buendia both spurned glorious chances and they couldn't find an equaliser.

90' + 4' FULL-TIME: WOLVES 1-0 ASTON VILLA.

Nélson Semedo

Yellow Card

90' + 2' Semedo stops Villa from taking a quick free-kick and is booked for time-wasting.

João Moutinho

Matheus Nunes

90' + 1' In an attempt to run the clock down, Wolves are making their last change. Nunes goes off for Moutinho.

90' + 1' Into three added minutes here and Neves clips another corner into the box. Mings gets a glancing touch at the near post, and it's just to put Toti off as he can't direct his header on goal.

89' Villa's latest corner is cleared, but Wolves flood forward to try and force a mistake. Carlos knocks it back to Martinez, who is on the edge of the centre circle, and he just manages to lift his pass over Neves as he rushes in.

87' Every one of Villa's outfield players are currently camped in Wolves' half as they continue their push for a goal. It's worked out to the right again, and they win another free-kick when Konsa is upended by Traore.

B. Kamara

Douglas Luiz

86' And Luiz is also making way, with Kamara on for him.

L. Digne

Álex Moreno

85' Final changes for Villa now as they continue their search for a late equaliser. Moreno goes off for Digne.

Adama Traoré

Pedro Neto

83' And Traore is also brought on in place of Neto.

N. Collins

Diego Costa

83' Double change for Wolves now as they prepare to defend this Villa free-kick. Costa is the first to go off, with Collins replacing him.

Toti

Yellow Card

82' Bailey knocked the ball through Toti's legs and threatened to enter the box. The defender tugs him back, earning himself a booking.

J. Durán

E. Buendía

81' Third change for Villa now, and it's Buendia that's taken off, with Duran on for him.

80' CHANCE! Villa work it down their right once again, with Bailey swinging a great cross into the far post. Watkins heads it back across goal, but can't get any power on it, and Sa is happy to let it bounce out of play.

79' Luiz goes over to take this corner, and it looks like it's curling straight into the net. Konsa is backing into Sa, who does manage to smack it away from his goal just before a free-kick is awarded in his favour.

77' Villa are keeping Wolves penned back in their own half, but are struggling to put the ball into the box. Ramsey and Buendia link up well down the left, but can only win a corner.

Douglas Luiz

Yellow Card

75' Luiz slides in with a late challenge on Hwang and receives a booking despite protesting his innocence.

73' CHANCE! Wolves are stretched and Moreno bursts down the left before sending a pacy cross into the box. Buendia runs onto it, but rushes his shot and sends it flying high and wide of the target.

72' WHAT A CHANCE! Villa win a free-kick through the middle and Luiz floats a lovely cross to the edge of the six-yard box. Mings peels away from his defender and hits the shot on the volley. Sa rushed out, but he sends it over the bar!

70' CHANCE! After breaking up another Villa attack, Wolves break on the counter once more. Neto has space down the left and takes it past Konsa before fizzing a low cross in. It deflects off Hwang's heel and out of Costa's reach.

Hwang Hee-Chan

Matheus Cunha

68' Wolves are making their first change now as Hwang comes on to replace Cunha.

67' There's a nervy moment at the back for Villa as it looks like Mings has sold Moreno short. Neto gets across and initially nicks the ball off him, only to lose out to the left-back with a heavy second touch.

Diego Carlos

A. Young

65' While Kilman finishes receiving his treatment, Villa are making their second change. It's Young that's going off for Carlos.

O. Watkins

Yellow Card

63' Watkins went in for an aerial challenge against Kilman and caught the defender in the neck with his elbow. It wasn't intentional, but he's shown a yellow card.

62' Wolves just can't clear their lines at the moment and Young's blocked cross comes straight back to him. He picks out Bailey's run down the right and he clips in a first-time cross, but Buendia can't get on the end of it.

60' SO CLOSE! McGinn takes this corner short to Bailey and he squares it to Young on the edge of the box once more. He lets it bounce before fizzing a shot towards the far post but sends it just wide.

59' Another quick break from Wolves sees Neto swing a deep cross into the far post where Nunes is unmarked. He gets his volley all wrong and ends up squaring it back across the box, but nobody is there for the hosts.

57' Buendia's corner is flapped at by Sa, and he only gets it as far as Young on the edge of the box. He pokes a shot straight down the middle, but Kilman gets in front of this one.

55' CHANCE! It's end-to-end at the moment as Wolves take their turn to attack. Neves picks out Cunha, who does well to hold off Mings long enough to get into the box, and his curling shot is deflected wide for a corner.

53' After soaking up a small period of Wolves pressure, Villa break on the counter, with Ramsey leading the charge down the left. He pulls it back for Buendia, but he sees another shot smothered by Dawson.

51' Neves is running away from goal as he tries to lose McGinn, who is tracking him across the field. The Villa captain needlessly clips him from behind and gets his final warning from the referee.

49' In the process of winning the ball, Lemina dispossessed Ramsey, who went down and knocked his head against Neto's leg on his way down. He's receiving treatment now, but he'll be able to carry on.

47' GOOD SAVE! Wolves win it back in their own half and Neto drives forward before sliding it through for Costa. He times his run to stay onside before drilling a low shot on goal, but Martinez keeps him out with his legs.

46' Wolves get us back underway for the second half!

L. Bailey

B. Traoré

46' Villa are making a change at the break. Traore is the player taken off, with Bailey replacing him.

Lopetegui will be fairly pleased with his side's performance. They've defended well against Villa's pressure after taking the lead and he'll be looking for more of the same. Emery was a frustrated figure on the touchline, however. He'll be expecting a big improvement in their quality in the final third to get back into this game.

Wolves take a 1-0 lead over Aston Villa into half-time. They scored with the first shot of the game as Toti rose highest to thump Neves' corner in off the underside of the crossbar. Villa dominated after that, with Sa making a good save to deny Buendia before also keeping out Traore and Watkins. Cunha also sent a late effort sailing just over the bar at the other end.

45' + 3' HALF-TIME: WOLVES 1-0 ASTON VILLA.

45' + 1' McGinn threads a lovely throughball into Watkins and there are shouts for handball as his deflected cross loops onto Nunes' arm. He didn't know much about it, and VAR sticks with the onfield decision of no penalty.

44' GREAT CHANCE! It's a wonderful cross from Nunes on the right to pick out Costa just inside the D and he chests it down. Konsa is wrong-footed, so it bounces to Cunha, who fires his first-time shot just over the bar.

43' McGinn is on the ground, and the referee's whistle goes, with the Wolves fans not happy. He quickly points out that he's awarding a free-kick to the hosts, with Villa now taking their turn to complain.

41' BLOCK! It's a great low cross from Young into the box for Buendia, and he takes it around Kilman with his first touch before setting himself to poke it towards goal. Dawson reads it well, sliding in to block it for a corner.

Diego Costa

Yellow Card

39' As is Costa for his reaction to Mings' initial challenge.

T. Mings

Yellow Card

39' Despite the two players being all smiles now, Mings is booked for his involvement in the argument.

38' Another offside flag goes up against Traore, but the referee's attention is instead drawn to a coming together between Mings and Costa as it's cleared. They're pushing each other during the argument, but it's quickly split up.

36' Wolves are still pressing from the front, but Villa seem to have figured them out a little. They work it neatly through midfield before Buendia overhits the pass out to Young.

34' SAVE! Villa are moving it much quicker now as Mings slides it through to an unmarked Ramsey on the left. He clips a good cross into the middle and Watkins meets it, but thumps his header straight at Sa.

33' Watkins goes down after that shot on goal and he's holding his head. He receives treatment and quickly gets back to his feet before also being given a new shirt after having his torn across the chest a little earlier in the game.

31' CHANCE! Buendia's twists and turns leave Neves in a tangle as he spins away from him to clip it into the far post. Kilman's clearance goes up into the air and Watkins tries a bicycle kick but sends it well wide.

30' Traore decides to have a run at Wolves' defence this time and catches them out with a reverse pass into Buendia. He pulls it back from the byline, but it deflects off Toti and straight into Sa's gloves.

28' The visitors are still seeing a lot of the ball, and it's switched out to Traore on the right once more. He checks back, but it's another poor cross into the box as it sails over everyone and harmlessly out of play.

26' It's better from Villa, as Young finds space down the right. He knocks it to Buendia, who tries to curl it into Watkins on the edge of the D, but it's just out of the forward's reach.

24' Moreno has his pocket picked this time, and Neves squares it into Lemina, who slides a throughball between Villa's centre-backs. Costa gives chase, but the pass is too heavy and Martinez comes out to clear it.

22' Wolves break on the counter, and neatly work it upfield, finding Semedo in space on the right. He can't get hold of the cross and it bobbles into the near post where Konsa hooks it away.

20' Villa are still pushing for an equaliser here as Luiz drives through the middle. He knocks it out to Traore on the right, but he can't pick out a team-mate with his cross.

18' Buendia bundles his way into the box and sees his poked shot blocked by Kilman. He does well to keep hold of it under pressure from Semedo and lays it off to Traore, but his tame shot is straight at Sa.

16' Watkins is holding his ground against Dawson as he darts into the box, but he can't shake the defender. Dawson gets down to take it away from him before he can get a shot away, but the offside flag goes up anyway.

14' GOOD SAVE! Villa do manage to open up Wolves this time, as Traore's cross is cushioned down by Watkins on the edge of the box. Buendia runs onto it, drilling a shot towards the far post, and Sa pushes it wide.

13' McGinn gets Villa upfield with a big switch out to Traore, but Wolves flood back into their box to close down the space. The visitors are trying to draw them out of their shape.

11' Villa look rattled after conceding the early goal and they're still struggling to play out from the back with any confidence. Martinez gets away with another pass across his box, and Young hooks it upfield away from danger.

Rúben Neves

Assist

9' It's a brilliant delivery from Neves as he whips it towards the far post to pick out Toti.

Toti

Goal

9' TOTI SCORES! Wolves had to retake the corner after a wrestling match between McGinn and Dawson, but it works out in their favour. Two of the home players end up on the floor as Neves swings it in, but it doesn't matter as Toti peels away from his defender to thump a header in off the underside of the bar. 1-0 Wolves!

8' Wolves' high press is causing Villa some real problems while they try to play out from the back. Martinez just manages to squeeze a pass into Mings, but he loses out to Neto. It bounces into Cunha's path, but he's offside.

6' Ramsey makes no attempt to play the ball as he blocks off Semedo's run, but they manage to catch each other in the face as they try to prevent a heavy clash. The referee tries to wave on the physios, but neither player needs treatment.

4' Again, Villa go for the big switch out to Moreno on the left, and this time he's able to lay it off to Ramsey. He squares it into the middle towards Watkins, but Dawson sticks out a leg to make a vital interception.

2' Kilman slips as he challenges Buendia on the halfway line and gives away a free-kick. The Argentinian switches it out to Moreno, who has space to run down the left, but Toti gets back to block his route.

1' Buendia gets the game underway for Villa!

The teams are out on the pitch now, with kick-off just moments away!

Wolves are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games against Villa (W2 D2), last having a longer run without defeat against them in the league between April 1957 and August 1961 (eight games).

After naming the same starting line-up for the last four games in a row, Emery does make a change today. Traore comes in to make a rare start in place of Denconcker, who drops to the bench. They're boosted by the returns of Bailey, Coutinho and Kamara from injury as well, as they're named as substitutes.

Julen Lopetegui makes just two changes from the side that lost to Brighton last Saturday. Toti and Cunha are both brought in, and Semedo has overcome a knee injury he picked up in that game to retain his place. Gomes starts on the bench, while Hugo Bueno isn't in the squad.

ASTON VILLA SUBS: Leander Dendoncker, Diego Carlos, Leon Bailey, Boubacar Kamara, Philippe Coutinho, Jhon Duran, Calum Chambers, Lucas Digne, Robin Olsen.

ASTON VILLA STARTING XI (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Ashley Young, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Alex Moreno; Douglas Luiz, John McGinn; Bertrand Traore, Emiliano Buendia, Jacob Ramsey; Ollie Watkins.

WOLVES SUBS: Hwang Hee-Chan, Joao Gomes, Joao Moutinho, Nathan Collins, Pablo Sarabia, Daniel Podence, Adama Traore, Daniel Bentley, Rayan Ait-Nouri.

WOLVES STARTING XI (4-4-2): Jose Sa; Toti, Craig Dawson, Maximilian Kilman, Nelson Semedo; Pedro Neto, Ruben Neves, Mario Lemina, Matheus Nunes; Matheus Cunha, Diego Costa.

Villa are still in contention for a European place next season and come into this game in seventh. They've lost just one of their last 11 games (W8 D2), though that was last time out in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United. It also marked the first time that they failed to score a goal in a match under Unai Emery. As for Wolves, they're still not mathematically safe yet, but a win today would take them up to 40 points. They've won three of their last six outings (D1 L2), with all of those victories coming at home without conceding. However, they come into today on the back of a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Premier League meeting between Wolves and Aston Villa at Molineux!

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa Live Commentary, 06/05/2023

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