Express & Star

The Joe Edwards debrief - Wolves 2 Aston Villa 1

Wolves are eighth going into the international break thanks to a 2-1 win against Villa at Molineux.

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Nuno Espirito Santo’s side put in a dominant display and were well worth the victory, making it seven unbeaten in the Premier League.

That goal

Where else is there to start?

What a corker it was from Ruben Neves to put Wolves ahead.

The Portuguese rifled the ball into the net from the edge of the box.

It was the perfect blend of power and precision from the player.

No keeper – never mind Villa’s third choice Orjan Nyland, who ended up being in the sticks because of injuries – would have had a chance of keeping it out. It was phenomenal.

And, in fact, so was the whole performance from Neves.

He broke free from the deep-lying shackles at Arsenal, of course, and has looked a player reborn over the past few games.

Neves has reminded everyone just how good he is – and how amazing he could become.

Aside from the goal, he was spraying around passes with top-drawer technique – outside of the foot, with his laces, on the volley.

Again, Joao Moutinho deserves a vast amount of credit for the job he is doing in midfield too, but the performances of Neves as of late stand out as they are so much better than what he had been doing earlier this campaign – picking the ball up from defence, admiring his long-range passes and not doing enough when out of possession.

Neves was immense. Let’s hope he carries on in the same vein after Portugal duty.

Terrific Traore

Neves was one of two who stood out, for me at least, with Adama Traore rising to the occasion against his former club.

From the outset, the Spaniard – now on the radar of the national team – drove at the heart of Villa, or more specifically gave Matt Targett the runaround.

The left-back ended up going off just prior to the interval because he had blurred vision after taking a knock to the head.

Had he not sustained that blow though, he probably would have been given the hook at half-time anyway as Traore had the beating of him every time. Neil Taylor did not fare much better either.

Traore, of course, did not do much in his time at Villa, but he displayed the growth he has had since leaving them with this display.

The way he outpaced Douglas Luiz before teeing up Raul Jimenez for Wolves’ second was nothing new.

But the way he slowed down, saw Jimenez was on, and then found him, was symbolic of the strides Traore has made in recent months.

He has been criticised in the past for ‘not having a footballing brain’, but he is not just a speedster anymore. Traore is a thinker too.

He just gets on with things too. If he is fouled, like he was cynically by Tyrone Mings for the free-kick the led to the Neves goal, he does not moan or throw his arms in the air.

Traore keeps his cool and carries on threatening. Fair play.

Defensively assured

Unfortunately, Wolves were unable to keep a clean sheet as Trezeguet scored in added-on time for Villa, with a buzz of the referee’s watch confirming the ball had crossed the line.

Romain Saiss almost cleared it off the line and will be disappointed to have let one in, but the Moroccan and his defensive partners can be pleased with their work.

Wolves miss Willy Boly – you are always not going to be quite as good without a defender of such magnitude – but perhaps not as much as we thought they would, so far at least.

Yes, there were moments when Wolves looked a bit shaky at the back, mainly when Saiss had picked up a booking but carried on flying into 50/50s, but, on the whole, it was pretty solid.

Leander Dendoncker impressed again, making a fine flying block to deny John McGinn as Villa looked for a leveller before Jimenez scored.

Conor Coady has recovered after a run of games where he looked vulnerable, while with Matt Doherty and Jonny Castro Otto you always know what you are getting – two hard-workers who offer you something offensively and keep it tight defensively.

Do not get me wrong, we are all wishing Boly a speedy recovery and keen to see him back in action.

It would still be nice to sign a stopper in January as well.

But, with young Max Kilman impressing in other competitions too as Ryan Bennett works his way back to full fitness after a groin problem, Wolves are holding their own in defence.

Attacking work to be done

At the other end of the pitch, though, Wolves do need to improve.

They got the goals to win here, of course, and got an important Europa League win against Slovan Bratislava last Thursday – but both should have been by a greater margin.

With those games, and the Arsenal draw, which could have easily been a Wolves win, Nuno’s side have had 62 shots.

Only four of those have been turned into goals, so the conversion rate needs to be bettered.

But, in the same breath, there is a lot to be said about the creativity on display at the moment and the persistence they are showing to pick up points despite missing opportunities.

Ultimately, you would sooner have it this way rather than not creating chances in the first place.

And they do not deserve massive criticism for the failure to convert more chances.

But I think we can all agree that it would be nice to have a few more go in, to prevent teams from gaining confidence when they should be dead and buried.

Final thoughts

Diogo Jota caught the eye with some mazy runs without getting on the scoresheet.

If he carries on playing with such vigour, the goals will return. But he needs to be careful not to turn hunger into frustration as he picked up a needless booking for dissent.

Overall, Wolves have 16 points from 12 league games – just as they did last season.

A lot of us were worried the Europa involvement would have a detrimental effect on domestic form, but they have dealt with it superbly. They are hugely resilient – and ever-so talented.