A draw is little use to either side but at least it was fair. Each team came achingly close to scoring, Villa hitting the bar twice in the first half before Wolves almost snatched victory in the second. There was much to admire but this clash was ultimately defined by a lack of quality when it counted most.
Villa approached the game with their minds on matters both local and exotic, knowing that victory would secure a league double over their Midlands rivals and lift them closer to European qualification. But they also knew they could only win by proving they are not overly reliant on Jack Grealish, who was missing through injury for a fourth match in a row. The fact Villa had scored only two goals in the three previous fixtures suggested they have been suffering from a creativity deficit without their captain.
In search of ingenuity, Dean Smith made three alterations to the lineup that failed to score during Wednesday’s sorry defeat to 10-man Sheffield United. Trezeguet was entrusted with the position normally occupied by Grealish while Morgan Sanson was given his first start since his £14m acquisition from Marseille in January, with Ross Barkley’s dwindling status shown by his position among the substitutes for a third successive match. Douglas Luiz was restored to central midfield in place of Marvelous Nakamba.
Wolves know all about the difficulty of trying to replace a key absentee, and Nuno Espírito Santo opted to start Willian José up front in the hope that the striker would find the net for the first time since being arriving on loan from Real Sociedad in January to supply some of the goals that Raúl Jiménez normally would. Leander Dendoncker continued in Wolves’ three-man defence despite Willy Boly’s return to full fitness.
Villa soon indicated their creative potential was far from exhausted, prising Wolves apart twice in the first 15 minutes only to hit the crossbar both times. Firstly, in the fourth minute, the clever and nimble Sanson combined with John McGinn to feed Ollie Watkins, who walloped a ferocious shot against the bar from 20 yards.
Wolves tried to retort quickly in a brisk start to proceedings but the ever-trusty Ezri Konsa blocked a shot by José before Emi Martínez even had to think about stretching himself to save it.
McGinn teed up Watkins again two minutes later but the striker, after darting into the box, decided to pass rather than shoot. His service to Bertrand Traoré was not as commendable as his selflessness, and Jonny was able to intervene.
Villa struck the frame of the goal for the second time when Wolves nodded off at a free-kick on the left, allowing Traoré to deliver a dangerous cross. Dendoncker remained alert enough to get a crucial touch and deflect Konsa’s shot from seven yards on to the bar and back out.
Villa remained the more lively side for the rest of the first half, their energy and ambition forcing the visitors to defend en masse. Wolves’ sporadic attacks were short and harmless, with neither Adama Traoré nor Pedro Neto able to prosper down the flanks. It must have been a struggle for Martínez to keep warm in the first half.
The second period started like the first, with McGinn teeing up Watkins for an early chance. Saïss deflected the striker’s shot wide, and the resultant corner led to Wolves’ first opportunity as Neto sprinted past Targett before unloading a powerful drive from 15 yards. At last Martínez was called into action, but the shot was too hot to hold.
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The corner produced nothing but Wolves should have scored from another one a few minutes later, when Saïss was guilty of an incredible miss from close range. Neto slung in a beautiful cross from the right and Conor Coady sent a plunging header against the post, whereupon Saïss bent the laws of geometry by scooping the rebound over an open goal from two yards. Dean Smith responded by inviting Barkley to make his mark with half an hour to go.
When Wolves sent a free-kick into the box in the 74th minute, Barkley nearly made an unintended impact, as he played his team into more trouble rather than clear the danger. Martínez rescued Villa, throwing himself in front of Coady to divert the defender’s shot from six yards wide. Villa did not threaten again until stoppage time, when Konsa blasted wide from eight yards.
from Football | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3bochKy
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