WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) – Joao Gomez scored his first Premier League goal of the season and Rodrigo Gomez added a second in stoppage time as bottom club Wolverhampton cruised to a shock 2-0 win over top-flight Aston Villa on Friday.
It was only their second league win for the club, who remain at the bottom of the table with a six-point difference and are all but certain to be relegated.
However, the home players and fans could not hide their joy as they were overjoyed at defeating their Midlands rivals.
“It takes a lot of performance to get a result like that against them,” coach Rob Edwards said.
“I’m really proud. Nights like this are why I came here. To connect with the supporters like that. I know we’re in a difficult position, but I love football. I love nights like that.”
The result was a crushing blow to Villa’s Champions League hopes and a slap in the face for manager Unai Emery, who was on the verge of notching his 100th win as manager of the Birmingham club.
“Now is the time to come together and understand how the season is going,” Emery said. “We need to understand the moment we are in. With two draws and one win we were already recovering, but today we did not get the result we needed. It is still in our hands whether we reach our top ambitions.”
Both teams struggled in the first half, but Wolves took control after Gomez took an unexpected lead 16 minutes into the second period.
Adam Armstrong deftly blocked a long pass into the path of the onrushing Gomez, and his well-placed shot left Emiliano Martinez with no chance.
Villa made progress as the game progressed but were caught in stoppage time, but Rodrigo Gomez did the damage as Wolves extended their lead to two points just before the end of the first half.
Villa have won just one of their last five league games. As a result, they are now 10 points behind leaders Arsenal and five points behind second-place Manchester City, having played more games than either team.
The next two games will be against Chelsea and Manchester United, who are just below the table.
“We need to keep playing the way we’re playing,” Villa midfielder Morgan Rodgers said. “There’s a reason why we’re in third place. Let’s not forget that. Our recent results haven’t been the same. Sometimes you have to come back to reality when you’re playing against good teams who can win or lose. That’s the Premier League. We need to stay focused and get back to what we know.”
“We didn’t do enough to create chances and score goals. We controlled the game so it wasn’t all doom and gloom. They had chances, but we didn’t do enough.”
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