Really solid performance, Lopetegui said he didn't recognise his players after last week's shambles but that was a lot more familiar. It doesn't change a lot of what we all think about certain personnel but hopefully we can kick on with 3 positive performances to end the season and prove that BHA was just an outlier in an otherwise upwards trajectory.
The referee was an absolute disgrace for both teams, it's a theme with Attwell that both sets of fans walk away seething at his incompetence. At least he's consistent and can't be accused of bias I suppose... He's been easily the worst referee in the league for over a decade and he's not getting any better. The only big call he got right was the handball, never a penalty and I'd have been furious if it had been awarded. With Attwell it's not the big calls that are the issue though, it's the constant stream of wrong decisions that ruin a game. In the first half he was giving Villa a free kick pretty much every time there was contact, it disrupted the flow of the game and actually handed Villa the upper hand. Incredibly frustrating.
Defensively we were solid for most of the game apart from the 2 times when Watkins & Mings found themselves wide open. We were probably lucky to come away with a clean sheet considering how easy those chances were but we missed chances of our own as well, Cunha & Costa really should've scored and I've no idea how they survived after Neto created that chance in the 2nd half.
Lopetegui was really clever in the way he set up. When Villa had possession on their right hand side we played in a 4-4-2 mid block, looked to press them into mistakes and break with Neto. We were obviously a bit more cautious of their left hand side of Moreno & Ramsey so when they cycled over to the left Matheus dropped back to RWB, Nelson into RCB, the midfield shuffled over and the line dropped to make it a much deeper 3-5-2. They might've had more possession (helped in the first half by Attwell killing any momentum we could've built in an attacking sense) but our shape helped us control the game and we really should've put the game to bed when we were on top in the first half of the second half. As the game wore on it was only natural for us to drop a little deeper, but apart from the Mings set piece they never really threatened.
Sá - World class reaction to save when it fell to Buendia in the box. Claimed everything else well but his distribution was a bit hoofy for my liking.
Semedo - You could see him and Matheus were still trying to work out their positioning at times on the right and that made him a little unsure and erratic but otherwise I thought he dealt well with everything Villa threw at him.
Dawson - Not sure who loses Watkins & Mings for their chances but an otherwise good performance. Brilliant play at the end to take it to the corner flag. Not sure it was a MOTM performance as some have suggested but certainly solid.
Kilman - Pretty even with Dawson. Had my heart in my mouth when a cross looped to the back post and I saw he was underneath it but he actually bothered to jump this time (not very high but I appreciated the effort). A few nice runs and passes, he can actually progress the ball well when he wants to, but then also a lot of hoofing under no pressure as well.
Toti - Excellent performance. Solid defending, supported Neto well and a brilliant goal. Very few things better than a thumping header crashing in off the bar. Got absolutely rinsed by Bailey once but did the right thing by hauling him down to prevent the chance, other than that Traore & Bailey hardly had a sniff.
Matheus - Excellent after last week's catastrophe. He was absolutely shot at the end, did a serious amount of running to support Nelson at RWB and also get forward when we broke. Defensively he was solid, won every duel and had a few moments of real quality on the ball as well. MOTM.
Lemina - Sniffs out danger and wins it back. Makes a very hard job look very easy at times. Top player.
Neves - Love him, love him, love him. Worked his arse off.
Neto - A really good performance by Neto and he was unlucky not to have created a goal with his cross in the second half. Hopefully he gets significant game time in the last 3 because he looks sharp now, I'd love for him to get a few goals/assists. It'd be such a boost to have the old Neto back. Loved his passion when he chased the ball down at the end.
Cunha - Really should've scored but an otherwise decent performance. I've no idea how he managed to dribble through almost their entire team in the first half, if he had managed to switch that to an unmarked Matheus before he was fouled it would've been an incredible assist.
Costa - It's weird because even though he's clearly too old now, it's his finishing that's letting him down. Even the goal he scored vs Brentford just hit him. Really should've scored or just crossed it to Cunha or Matheus who were wide open. Other than that he was excellent, a real handful for their defenders.
Hwang - Ran hard but once he came on the game kind of drifted back towards Villa so didn't have much to do in an attacking sense. No issues with him if he's used like that. I'd much rather have him on in that situation than Adama.
Adama - Please leave.
Collins - Subbed on for his height. The right change at the right time.
Moutinho - Last time we see this legend in a Wolves shirt?
Good to have an atmosphere approaching what it used to be like under Nuno. Missed a few games recently so it was my first home game since they've started the flags and I thought they were great. Villa fans were shite as per. Only started singing once the final whistle went and they could pretend to pop off behind a line of policemen.
