With each Wolves near miss, it was impossible to ignore the growing likelihood of an Aston Villa victory. For so long Unai Emery cut an agitated figure but by the end he could celebrate a seventh league victory in eight matches, Boubacar Kamara dispatching an unerring left-foot strike into the top corner midway through the second half to hoist Villa up to fourth and within a point of second-placed Manchester City.
Villa rattled the crossbar after a couple of minutes but from there Wolves gave their hosts an uncomfortable ride, this arguably their best display of the season. Jørgen Strand Larsen had an early goal disallowed for offside and on the verge of half-time Emiliano Martínez pushed Yerson Mosquera’s header on to the bar with his fingertips before scrambling the ball clear.
