It was late heartbreak for Wolverhampton Wanderers as Aston Villa snatched all three points in the 94th minute as Anwar El Ghazi scored the penalty which was given away by Nelson Semedo.
After Douglas Luiz picked up two yellow cards, Wolves were pushing to find the winner but came out on the wrong side of the result.
Wolves stuck with their 4 at the back formation as they looked to be positive against their local rivals, but they couldn’t find a way through, and eventually found themselves on the wrong side of the result.
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Goalkeepers and Defenders
Rui Patricio – 6 – Rui Patricio kept Wolves in the game on one occasion as he made a magnificent save from a shot from Ollie Watkins. Apart from that Patricio didn’t have much to do in the game, but unfortunately for Wolves fans he couldn’t save the penalty in the final minute of the game.
Nelson Semedo – 4 – The man that gave away the penalty has a pretty poor game for the second consecutive week. Going forward, Nelson Semedo looked decent and looked more like the signing from Barcelona that Wolves expected.
However, multiple times this season, Semedo has got the basics wrong, and has cost Wolves points. John McGinn got the wrong side of him before being brought down. Going forward, Semedo needs to improve, and improve a lot.
He looks like the weak link in a struggling Wolves side at the back. He needs to adjust to the pace of English football before he is moved on out of the club.
Conor Coady – 6 – The captain had a solid game and cleared the majority of the danger that found it’s way to him. Having left the pitch with a bloodied nose halfway through, the captain continued and controlled the game from the back. Apart from that, Coady didn’t have much to do and didn’t do much wrong.
Romain Saiss – 6 – The Moroccan was brought back into the side to replace Willy Boly who was poor against the Champions Liverpool last time out. Saiss did well today against a strong Villa front line and didn’t do much wrong.
Fernando Marçal – 7 – Marçal played well again today against Aston Villa. After a strong showing against Arsenal a few weeks ago, Marçal showed his experience again today and calmed the back line down when it got tense. The defender didn’t put a foot wrong, but also didn’t do much going forward to threaten.
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Midfielders
Leander Dendonker – 7 – The Belgian played well today against Aston Villa and controlled the game in large parts. He threatened throughout the game by his long runs into the box from midfield, and had the best chance of the game apart from the penalty which was saved brilliantly by Emiliano Martinez.
Joao Moutinho – 5 – Despite playing well, Moutinho received a red card after Aston Villa took the lead, leaving Wolves with 10 men. Apart from that, Moutinho played well, and showed his class by creating chances for the home side.
He was nibbling at Aston Villa players throughout the game, and eventually picked up two yellow cards meaning he will miss the next game against Chelsea.
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Forwards
Daniel Podence – 7 – Podence played well again today and continued his run of looking threatening in a central position.
On the ball, he was brilliant and gained Wolves a lot of ground, despite not really threatening in front of goal. He challenged for balls in the air and never gave up which was brilliant to see for a small attacker such as Podence.
Pedro Neto – 8 – Neto once again shined in the Wolves side. Despite not scoring, Neto looked like that player who was going to make something happen.
A brilliant piece of skill and a rabona cross set up Dendonker who should have scored. Neto was dribbling with the ball and shooting and for many Wolves fans who watched the team a few years ago might be reminded of Hélder Costa in his prime.
Adama Traore – 6 – Traore threatened once again for Wolves with his pace and ability on the ball. He created chances and stretched the back line of Villa, but couldn’t really find a way through.
Traore had one clear cut chance, when Wolves were 4 against 3, but he decided to take the shot on rather than playing through Daniel Podence, which wasted the chance.
Fabio Silva – 7 – Fabio Silva had question marks over him before the game, whether he could fill the huge boots that Raúl Jimenez has left behind. He did well today as he provided some sort of an outlet up top for Wolves.
He came closest for the home side as he struck the post after latching onto a well-placed ball from Podence. There are signs of a very good striker there and he will 100% develop with time, but is he good enough for Wolves at the moment? Only time will tell.
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Substitutions:
Ruben Neves– 7 – When Neves came on in the final 15 minutes of the game, he impressed a lot and opened up the game for Wolves. He was the only Wolves player to hit a meaningful diagonal pass today, which was a significant option Wolves have used under Nuno Espirito Santo. Overall, very impressed with Ruben Neves and he has probably just earned himself a start for the next game.