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Wolves 1-1 Aston Villa Player Ratings – Here, we gives the overview of this eventful West Midlands Derby at Molineux, in which the unlucky Villans’ three-match winning streak in the Premier League was snapped.
The hosts were up for adding to the physicality in the West Midlands derby and hassled the Villa forwards with crunching challenges. But they failed to get any shot on goal in the first half and relied only on counter-attacks for chances. Wolves were not as clinical as they’d liked to have been, but fought their way to get a point.
Unai Emery’s side were definitely not as ruthless as they were in their huge win over Brighton last week. They had their share of chances, but their shots just weren’t menacing enough to beat the sturdy Jose Sa.
But there was one highlight to take home, as Hwang Hee-chan has now scored four goals in his last five Premier League games for Wolves. This also includes goals against Liverpool and Manchester City.
Wolves 1-1 Aston Villa Player Ratings
Contents
Match Timeline
7′ – A dangerous cross into the far post meets Cash, but his shot is sharply denied by Sa.
29′ – McGinn is booked for cynically fouling Neto.
46′ – Watkins’ instinctive shot on target forces a top save from Sa.
53′ (Goal) – Neto makes a surging run into the box before teeing a pass to Hwang, who tips in from close range.
55′ (Goal) – Torres guides a cross into the far post past Sa.
83′ – A long-range distance effort from Lemina is denied.
90+1′ – Watkins gets in behind the defenders, but his shot hits the side-netting.
90+4′ – Lemina is sent off after receiving his second yellow card for a cynical foul.
90+12′ – Konsa’s powerful attempt from inside the box is denied by Sa.
90+13′ – Watkins’ thunderous header rattles the bar in a dramatic end to the game.
Star Man – Hwang Hee-chan – 8.5/10
The South Korean forward continued his impressive form for Wolves coming off a brilliant match-winning effort against Manchester City. He was a problematic figure for the defenders with his unpredictable runs in behind the backline and constantly got into the dangerous areas.
Managed to beat his man to tap in a clever goal despite being troubled by physical challenges from the defenders. Apart from his goal, Hwang was also superb in tracking back and helping defensively, making two tackles and winning three key duels.
Linked up really nicely with Neto to maintain that sense of unpredictability to Wolves’ few attacking chances in the game. Ran the defenders ragged with his smart work in the final third.
Wolves Player Ratings
Jose Sa 7.5/10 – Sharp in his goal, making a few brilliant reflex saves to frustrate the Villans.
Max Killman 7/10 – Assertive and commanding, making five clearances and winning multiple key duels.
Craig Dawson 7/10 – Did a solid job in keeping Watkins from getting at the end of chances and came up with clutch clearances.
Toti Gomes 6.5/10 – Held together a sturdy defensive line to keep the opposition attackers quiet.
Nelson Semedo 4/10- Struggled against Villa’s pace and ousted by McGinn and Digne in the wings. Had no attacking threat either.
Joao Gomes 6/10 – Protected his side defensively by restricting Villa’s movement down the middle. But unable to create much.
Mario Lemina 5/10 – Proactive in midfield with his energetic presence, but foolish with some of his fouls and got sent off in added time.
Rayan Ait-Nouri 6/10 – An energetic figure in the first half with a commendable defensive effort. Taken off at half-time due to concussion scares.
Pedro Neto 7.5/10 – Tormented defenders with his unpredictable runs and set up the opener by outwitting multiple defenders. Wasted a huge chance late on.
Hwang Hee-chan 8.5/10 – A menacing threat with his clever movement and kept defenders guessing with his movement. Converted smartly from close range for his goal.
Matheus Cunha 4.5/10 – Failed to really trouble the defenders and had no goal-scoring threat whatsoever.
Substitutes
Matt Doherty 6/10 – Maintained defensive sturdiness down his side to stop Villa from creating much.
Boubacar Traore 6/10 – Moved the ball forward nicely to help his side in the transitions.
Sasa Kalajdzic – A threat in the transitions, creating a big chance for Neto after coming on.
Fabio Silva – N/A
Aston Villa Player Ratings
Emiliano Martinez 6/10 – Outwitted for the goal, but came up with a few nice saves to ruin Wolves’ attacks.
Diego Carlos 6.5/10 – Not that proactive, yet still managed to restrict Wolves’ movement down the right.
Ezri Konsa 7/10 – Sturdy and reliable at the back, putting an end to a lot of the hosts’ moves.
Pau Torres 7.5/10 – Got Embarrassed by Neto for Wolves’ goal but managed to redeem himself by scoring a clinical equaliser soon after.
Matty Cash 5/10 – Couldn’t provide much creative influence down the right and was hassled by the Wolves players on the breaks.
Boubacar Kamara 6/10 – Moved the ball along nicely and won a few duels to deal strongly against the physical Wolves side.
Douglas Luiz – Slightly aggressive at times, but stopped a lot of Wolves’ transitions and moved the ball forward nicely.
John McGinn – 7/10 – Maintained his confidence after a match-winning effort in mid-week. Buzzed around in confidence and created some major chances with impressive final third passes.
Lucas Digne 6/10 – Worked really hard to move up and down the left, yet his final product was slightly awry.
Moussa Diaby 5/10- Didn’t look fully fit after recovering from a knock and was barely involved in the game.
Ollie Watkins 7/10 – Not as active as he’d like to be, but still managed to grab a smart assist with a brilliant pass for Torres. He also saw two late attempts refuse to go into the goal.
Substitutes
Nicolo Zaniolo 5/10 – Failed to improve his side’s creative threat or get close to scoring.
Leon Bailey 6/10 – Created a smart little chance for Watkins in added time.
Youri Tielemans 6/10 – Moved the ball forward swiftly.
Wolves 1-1 Aston Villa Player Ratings: The final word
Wolves will definitely be the happier side to be going away from this derby with a point. They were put under a lot of pressure for the majority of the game by a confident Villa side, but just about managed to scratch through for a draw. Emery’s side will be gutted to not be able to convert their chances decisively enough to get a win and leave Molineux cursing their luck.
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