Wolves secured a much-needed win over Midlands rivals Aston Villa on week 24 of the Premier League season.
The Old Gold ended their four-game winless run with a statement win over Aston Villa, beating Unai Emery’s side 2-0 at Molineux.
While the joyous scenes in the West Midlands were a highlight, more good news followed as Matheus Cunha signed a new contract at Wolves.
Vitor Pereira was delighted by the derby win as Wolves earned three points to move out of the bottom three.
Unai Emery and Ezri Konsa share assessment of Wolves
While Cunha’s new contract and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s heroics against Villa stole the headlines, something else deserved celebration.
One of Wolves’ greatest issues this season has been defending, as Pereira demanded more from his squad following the defeat to Chelsea on match day 22.
Pereira said after the defeat at Stamford Bridge that he wanted his players to be ‘more aggressive in the area of duels’, something that the players clearly took on board.
Against Villa, both Emery and defender Ezri Konsa commended how ‘intense’ Wolves were when it came to winning individual duels all over the pitch.
“We lost every battle in that first half. First balls, second balls. They scored a goal early on,” Konsa admitted to Aston Villa’s official website, as Emery shared a similar assessment.
“Wolverhampton were very focused in the match and individually, they were very aggressive and intense,” the Villa boss said.
Pereira wanted more from his players in that area and, the Wolves manager’s demands have been met, something that must now continue.
Wolves dominated Aston Villa defensively
Having conceded 52 goals already this season, there has been a consistent demand for Wolves to sharpen up when it comes to defensive duties.
In the absence of the pitbull-like Joao Gomes, Pereira’s players had to step up and they did just that, as the numbers portray.
| Wolves | Aston Villa | |
| 25 | Tackles | 13 |
| 15 | Interceptions | 3 |
| 43 | Recoveries | 31 |
| 32 | Clearances | 13 |
| 5 | Disposessed | 12 |
| 51% | Ground duels won | 49% |
As both Emery and Konsa admitted, Wolves terrorised Villa when out of possession, winning duels and remaining rampant, suffocating the visitors.
The derby win was a huge step forward for the Old Gold amid recent struggles and with evidence that the squad is capable of stepping up, more of the same is needed to turn things around for good.