Analysis: Emi Martinez heroics keep ruthless Aston Villa rolling with Wolves derby win

Their eighth straight home win in all competitions was arguably the hardest-earned, owing much to the agility of their goalkeeper before Boubacar Kamara produced the afternoon’s one moment of attacking magic.

By the finish, there were only smiles and big celebrations in front of the Holte End from Amadou Onana and captain John McGinn, the latter having been honoured for his 300th appearance with a giant tifo which hung off the huge stand before kick-off.

No matter the method, Villa just know how to win. This was their 11th in 13 matches and set them up nicely for a big first week of what has the potential to be a big old December.

Should they carry on the winning streak at Brighton on Wednesday night and then at home to Premier League leaders Arsenal, it will be impossible not to ask Emery and his players about a possible title challenge.

They will no doubt have to perform significantly better than Sunday if those victories are to be achieved, though credit should also go to Wolves for their own much-improved display.

Villa, who hit the bar inside the opening two minutes, were otherwise frustrated for long periods and a goal never really seemed close until the unlikely Kamara delivered it midway through the second half, controlling McGinn’s pass with one touch before sending an unstoppable left-footed shot beyond Sam Johnstone and into the top corner with his next.

Scoring inside the box is clearly over-rated. Kamara’s goal - just his third since joining Villa in 2022 - was the ninth they have scored from outside the area this season and the sixth in the last six league matches.

Four of those have been winners and for all the law of averages suggests Villa can’t keep surviving on screamers, for now they are making a fine old go of it.

Emery knows his team have to start creating more but a change up top, with Donyell Malen getting a deserved start ahead of Ollie Watkins, did not make a huge amount of difference.

Malen, a player whose six goals this season have all been from inside the box, seemed just as peripheral to Villa’s play as Watkins has for most of the season, his attempts on goal before Kamara’s opener limited to two blocked efforts.

Only when the deadlock had been broken did things open up but Johnstone prevented Malen from scrambling home a second goal which would have ended the game as a contest.

That meant Villa had to lean on Martinez again in stoppage time when he made his final save of the afternoon, parrying Joao Gomes’ smartly-struck effort from a corner.

The pick of the stops had come during added time at the end of the first half. Having first pushed Jorgen Strand Larsen’s close-range effort round the post, he got fingertips to Yerson Mosquera’s powerful header from the resulting corner, pushing the ball on to the bar.

Martinez was called into action again early in the second period when he saved low down from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde. Though that stop and the one from Gomes were nowhere near so spectacular as his denial of Mosquera, his ability in all three cases to not only keep the ball out but direct it away from danger were a reminder of just why he ranks among the Premier League’s best.

Emery made a point of referencing Martinez post-match when discussing the remarkable transformation of a Villa team who through the first month of the season were struggling almost as badly as Wolves.

The Argentina international spent much of the summer believing he had played his last match for the club and began the season looking like a man who still wanted that to be the case. Just a couple of months on, he looks fully reinvested with this his fourth clean sheet in the last 10 Premier League matches.

Villa’s resurgence has been built on a return to the basics and while they might have struggled to show much quality against Wolves, the win owed plenty to their patience and refusal to panic when things weren’t going their way. Just as at Leeds the previous Sunday, there was a belief if they kept their heads, someone at some point would find the inspiration to win the game.

The challenges are about to get significantly tougher. Brighton sit just two points behind them in the table and are among the league’s other in-form teams. They are also unbeaten at the Amex Stadium this season.

Arsenal’s standing as the top flight’s team to beat speaks for itself but Villa, on their own turf, will be confident of at least giving the Gunners one of their sternest tests so far.

Together with Crystal Palace, Mikel Arteta’s side are the only side to win at Villa Park since the start of last season. Without Martinez, Wolves might have been an unlikely addition to the list.