Wolves 1 Aston Villa 1 - Report

A scrappy game came to life in the second half when Hwang Hee-chan fired Wolves in front, and equalled last season’s top goalscorer for the club in the process.

But just two minutes later, Pau Torres amended for his error leading to the Wolves goal, by scoring his first for Villa.

With 12 minutes on the clock, and the officials deciding to play longer, Watkins then latched onto a cross and hit the post with the last touch of the game.

Analysis

Gary O’Neil named an unchanged starting XI from the side that beat Manchester City, as he stuck with the 5-2-3 formation.

The only change came on the bench as Tommy Doyle replaced Joe Hodge.

Unai Emery made one change with Diego Carlos coming in for Nicolo Zaniolo, as Villa lined-up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

A quick start from Wolves saw Max Kilman look to release Nelson Semedo down the right, but the chance fizzled out as they looked to feed Pedro Neto.

Villa then had a chance when Torres had a free header from a corner, but he failed to make a strong connection with the ball with the goal at his mercy.

The visitors had a huge chance when John McGinn was allowed to carry the ball forward and cross for Matty Cash, who was free at the back post and took aim, but Jose Sa was equal to it with a good save.

Moments later, McGinn had an audacious effort from distance that was not too far away from nestling in the top corner, despite Sa’s relaxed reaction to let it fly beyond his post.

With Wolves making the occasional error, Joao Gomes’ poor mistake in possession gave the ball back to Villa in Wolves’ third, before McGinn took aim again but fired over the bar.

An ongoing battle from Wolves set pieces saw McGinn continue to handle Craig Dawson, with home fans calling for a penalty. Referee Rob Jones spoke to both players a handful of times, as the collisions kept happening, but did not punish anyone.

Shortly after, both Dawson and McGinn were then booked for completely separate challenges. First, Dawson caught Watkins on his achilles, before McGinn took Neto out off the ball.

Wolves then came close to opening the scoring when Rayan Ait-Nouri latched onto Hwang’s cross and turned his near post shot just wide of the far post.

Despite both sides creating some chances, it was a rather scrappy contest and the momentum slowed as players began going down with injuries. A long stoppage came when Ait-Nouri caught a knock to his head, before Lucas Digne then hit the deck under a challenge from Semedo.

Douglas Luiz had a big shot blocked by Wolves, before some more handbags involving McGinn again sparked a row in the dugouts. Wolves coach Shaun Derry got involved first, before Villa’s bench reacted and both sets of staff had to be separated.

Hwang almost got through for a good chance before the half-time whistle blew and both teams entered the break drawing 0-0.

Villa were slightly more dangerous going forward, but Wolves will have been happy with their showing as they defended fairly well and created some openings of their own.

As the second half got under way, Matt Doherty was brought on to replace Ait-Nouri.

In the opening minutes of the half, Sa was forced into a magnificent save when Watkins got in front of Dawson and poked the ball towards goal, but the goalkeeper tipped it over his bar.

The game was then disrupted for several more minutes after Luiz caught Hwang with an arm to the face, and the Wolves player needed treatment.

With Villa putting the pressure on, Wolves scored against the run of play when Hwang stole the ball from Luiz and got his side up the pitch. The ball was worked to Neto on the right, who flew past Torres, got into the box and crossed low for Hwang who tapped home.

But just two minutes later, Torres made amends by dragging Villa level with his first goal for the club. The £31million signing beat Semedo at the back post to meet Watkins’ cross and equalise.

Wolves then had another blow when Mario Lemina picked up his fifth booking of the season, which means he will now be suspended for the trip to Bournemouth after the international break. Minutes later, Semedo was also booked, and he now suffers the same fate as Lemina at Bournemouth.

A VAR check was then made for a possible red card for Luiz, after an altercation with Hwang, but it was not given.

Wolves were calling for a penalty when Neto went down in the box under a challenge, but nothing was given.

Semedo then raced through on goal but an incredibly poor shot was saved by Emi Martinez. Semedo’s blushes were then spared when the offside flag was raised.

Wolves should have re-taken the lead when substitute Sasa Kalajdzic was released down the left and crossed for Neto, who blazed over the bar at the far post from 10 yards.

With Wolves looking for a winner, Neto once again flew past Torres down the right, cut inside and found Kalajdzic on the edge of the box, but his shot was poor.

Everyone in attendance at Molineux was shocked when 12 minutes of added time were given at the end of the 90 minutes, with time for either side to find a winner.

That added time became a lot harder for Wolves when Lemina was shown a second yellow card for pulling Zaniolo’s shirt as he looked to transition into attack. That means after missing the Bournemouth game through suspension, Lemina will be back on four yellow cards and close to another suspension.

With Villa pushing for a winner, Luiz had another shot blocked inside the box. Then, Zaniolo was inches away from finding the far corner with a back post effort, with Semedo beaten again.

Wolves were defending deep and Ezri Konsa came close with a shot that Sa saved.

With the officials playing on beyond the 12 minutes, Watkins then hit the post with the last kick of the game, before the full-time whistle was blown.

Wolves were furious and made their feelings known, prompting Emery and O’Neil to have an angry confrontation as they did not shake hands.

Key Moments

GOAL 53 Hwang puts Wolves ahead

GOAL 55 Torres equalises for Villa

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Semedo, Kilman, Dawson, Toti, Ait-Nouri (Doherty, 45), Gomes (Traore, 69), Lemina, Hwang (Silva, 85), Cunha (Kalajdzic, 76), Neto.

Subs not used: Bentley, S.Bueno, Jonny, Doyle, Sarabia.

Villa: Martinez, Konsa, Diego Carlos, Torres, Digne, Cash (Bailey, 81), Kamara (Tielemans, 81), Luiz, McGinn, Diaby (Zaniolo, 62), Watkins.

Subs not used: Olsen, Chambers, Lenglet, Dendoncker, Traore, Duran.