Result: Aston Villa 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Date: 27 June 2020
Venue: Villa Park
Wolverhampton Wanderers leapfrogged Manchester United in the race for UEFA Champions League football with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo surprisingly keptAdama Traore out of the starting line-up in the only change with his place taken by Leander Dendoncker while Villa had two changes, as Marvelous Nakamba and Conor Hourihane came to the fore.
The hosts showed intent to get an early goal but they were caught on a counter-attack in the 18th minute that nearly resulted in a goal, as Raul Jimenez had a header saved by goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.
Santo's charges gained momentum after that, causing problems for Villa and despite missing a host of chances, the visitors should have been 1-0 up just before the sides went to the break after Nyland made a blunder by throwing a ball straight to Diogo Jota on the edge of the box but the Portuguese forward blasted his strike over the bar.
The game got tight in the early stages of the second stanza, with no clear chances created and Santo eventually brought on Traore in place of Jota on the hour-mark for tactical reasons.
Immediately thereafter, Wolves broke the deadlock thanks to a left-footed strike by Dendoncker that found the bottom corner after the Belgian had space on the edge of the box to pick his spot from Jonny Castro's threaded pass.
Dean Smith's troops were showing fighting spirit, pressurising the visitors in the last quarter of an hour, especially with long balls whipped into the box searching for Mbwana Samatta but Wolves were standing firm.
In the end, Villa were running out of steam, with Wolves able to keep them at bay and they clinched their third win in a row to leapfrog Manchester United in fifth spot while the hosts dropped down to second-from-bottom.
