Wolves came from two goals down vs Aston Villa Saturday to win in an away Premier League match for only the second time ever in club history.
“The ball was in so that’s all that matters,” Ruben Neves, who scored the final goal of the match (90’+5), said. “What a win, what a team spirit. I’m so proud of the boys. A really hard game for us. Villa are a great team, they were at home, it was a derby – it was almost perfect for us.”
Villa went up 2-0 following goals from Danny Ings (48′) and John McGinn (68′), but Wolves were able to catalyze late with three goals from Romain Saiss (80′), Conor Coady (85′) and Neves.
Prior to the match, Villa boss Dean Smith was aware the Wolves are better than their results may suggest.
“At the start of the season, I thought their performances didn’t get the result they deserved.” Smith noted.
Wolves are just the third team in the league’s history to score three goals from 80th minute onwards to win a match after being down 2-0. Reading (2013) and Wigan (2010) were the others.
“I could see my wife and the boys in the stand at the end going mental,” Wolves’ defense Coady said. “It was a derby, so to win the way we have from 2-0 down is incredible. Honestly, it was emotional and tough. Since the new manager came in we have improved. We were on the end of some bad results but there’s loads to improve on.”
This was Villa’s first league home defeat since May 9.
“I am thankful for Wolves to believe in me and my work and to give me a chance to be here in the Premier League because I want to live these days and today was a day to remember in the future. 2-0 down, 80 minutes, 10 minutes changed the game for us,” Wolves coach Bruno Lage said.
Despite not getting much of the spotlight, substitute Daniel Podence was the game-changer on Saturday. He came in for Wolves around the 80′ mark, assisting Saiss, before the subsequent goals from Coady and Neves.
Wolves won the possession battle 52-48. They had five fewer shots overall than Villa, but just one shot on target fewer. Wolves had seven corners vs six for Villa.
Following the tough loss, Smith referred to the late conceded goal as “painful.”
Villa are now in the No. 12 spot of the standings with Wolves at No. 8.
Villa don’t have too much time to dwell on this loss as they match up with Arsenal next Friday, 22 October. Wolves get set for a PL fixture with Leeds United on Saturday, 23 October.
