Wolves beat high-flying Aston Villa to move past record low points tally
Two second-half goals decided the Premier League contest at Molineux.
Wolves moved past Derby’s record-low Premier League points tally as they dealt a blow to Aston Villa’s top-four hopes with a 2-0 win at Molineux.
It had looked for much of the season that Wolves would struggle to match the meagre 11 points the Rams posted in the 2007/08 season.
But second-half goals from Joao Gomes and Rodrigo Gomes gave them just a second win in 29 games, which takes them to 13 and beyond the possible notoriety of being the worst-ever Premier League team.
It was especially sweet that it was achieved against local rivals Aston Villa, who have a terrible recent record at Molineux.
And Unai Emery’s men put in a woeful display as their Champions League qualification hopes took another hit.
Villa were very much in the title race during January, however just one win from their last five games has seen them not only fall out of contention, but looking over their shoulder at the chasing pack.
Villa had not won at Molineux since 2020, so, despite their respective positions in the table, the visitors knew this was not going to be an easy game.
The weather did not help, with rain lashing down and affecting both sides’ ability to move the ball around.
Still, it was Villa that looked the most likely initially and they fashioned several good chances in the first half.
The first came after six minutes when Morgan Rogers played a brilliant ball for Ollie Watkins to race on to, but the striker took too long to get his shot away and it was blocked by Yerson Mosquera.
From the resulting corner, Pau Torres found himself in yards of space near the penalty spot but could not make a clean connection with his header.
Jose Sa was tested for the first time in the 17th minute as Douglas Luiz produced a rasping volley from Matty Cash’s cross, but it was straight at the goalkeeper.
Villa could not find that early goal and the level of their performance slipped alarmingly as the match went on.
They were punished just after the hour as Wolves scored with their first shot on target.
They won the ball in midfield, Jackson Tchatchoua was given too much space to send in his cross, which Adam Armstrong laid off for Gomes to power the ball into the roof of the net.
It was the only real moment of quality in a poor game.
Villa tried to get something out of it in the final 30 minutes, but the closest they came was when Ian Maatsen thrashed an effort straight at Sa.
Their best chance came in the seventh minute of stoppage time when a loose ball fell to Amadou Onana, but Sa got enough on the ball to allow Mosquera to clear off the line.
Then, with the game in the final throes, Wolves sealed the three points with a breakaway goal, Rodrigo Gomes converting from 12 yards.
This result will not change the outcome of Wolves’ season but there were wild scenes of celebration at the end while Emery stormed down the tunnel in disgust.
