Second-half goals from Joao Gomes and Rodrigo Gomes gave Wolves an impressive first win in nine games, as the bottom-place team in the Premier League put West Midlands neighbors Aston Villa at risk of being overtaken by Manchester United this weekend.
Generous defending by the third-placed Villans allowed Joao Gomes to beat goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez from inside the area to break the deadlock in the 61st minute at Molineux, diving after Adam Armstrong touched down Jackson Tchatchoua’s cross from the right.
João Gomes breaks the deadlock after a great play! 🔓 pic.twitter.com/wNDF2GHTJF
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 27, 2026
Wolves head coach Rob Edwards turned to celebrate jubilantly with the visiting fans when Rodrigo Gomes turned to fire in a low shot to double his team’s lead in the 98th minute, the rebound from Joao Gomes’ blocked shot falling to the wide player.
United will leapfrog Villa if they win at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday (14:00 GMT). Wolves are 14 points adrift of safety with nine games left in the league season.
Rodrigo Gomes seals the victory for the Wolves! ✅ pic.twitter.com/GXdgfi4kxc
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 27, 2026
Analysis: Villa falters again with the defeat against Wolves
Villa manager Unai Emery had publicly warned his players that Wolves did not deserve to lose 1-0 at Villa Park shortly after the arrival of Rob Edwards in November, and the visitors, who had seemed doomed to fail, exacted revenge with their only attempt on goal against opponents who have had a faltering February, leaving them five points behind Manchester City and 10 behind Arsenal after this result.
Pau Torres missed a header on a presentable chance, Ollie Watkins hesitated when well placed to shoot inside the area and Douglas Luiz volleyed goalkeeper José Sa as the hosts worked before the break, with Sa then pushing in Ian Maatsen’s shot from close range after Wolves had taken the lead.
Former Wolves striker Don Goodman said he was “really disappointed” by Villa’s performance before the first goal.
“They haven’t been able to put Wolves on the defensive and under sustained pressure,” Goodman told Sky Sports. “That’s what I expected in the second half.”
Here’s how Villa fared this month: they won one of their five league games and lost three of six in all competitions.
| Date | Opponents | Result |
| February 27 | Wolves (A) | 0-2 |
| February 21 | Leeds United (H) | 1-1 |
| February 14 | Newcastle United (H, FA Cup) | 1-3 |
| February 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion (H) | 1-0 |
| February 7 | Bournemouth (A) | 1-1 |
| February 1 | Brentford (H) | 0-1 |
What’s wrong with Villa? Wolves’ tactical ‘game plan’ works
“They are nowhere near the team I’ve seen this season,” former Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie told the broadcaster, whose coverage appeared to show defender Ezri Konsa looking unhappy with disgruntled fans.
“I see a team that seems to be afraid to create; the players that come in have no impact. There are many things that I can highlight.
“That’s just not good enough. You’re facing a team who are bottom of the Premier League… in a big derby, that’s a big wake-up call for Villa.”
Former England women’s international Izzy Christiansen said Villa were “really poor in possession”. “You can’t help but see the fact that Rob Edwards’ game plan prevented Villa from doing what they wanted to do,” Christiansen added.
“He questioned the way they prepared and they have a result to prove. From Villa’s perspective, it was a really terrible performance.
“Abysmal is the perfect word to describe it. They seem so out of touch. They’ve been very well coached over the last few years, but they’re on a rough patch and could end up paying hugely for that.”
A smart move by Mateus Mané forces Matty Cash to commit a foul 🟨 pic.twitter.com/8x0ioNdWNH
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 27, 2026
Wolves team vs Aston Villa
The defender or midfielder on loan from Girona, Ladislav Krejci, was suspended by Wolves after being sent off against Palace.
Defender Toti and midfielder Joao Gomes were the new faces in their starting team, with Tolu Arokodare moving to the bench.
Striker Hee Chan Hwang had returned to training after an injury, but did not participate. Winger Enso González suffered a long-term knee injury.
Wolves starting eleven: Jose Sa, Yerson Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Toti Gomes, Jackson Tchatchoua, Joao Gomes, Andre, Hugo Bueno, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Adam Armstrong, Mateus Mane
wolves substitutes: Sam Johnstone, Matt Doherty, David Moller Wolfe, Tolu Arokodare, Pedro Lima, Rodrigo Gomes, Angel Gomes, Saheed Olagunju, Tom Edozie
Aston Villa vs Wolves Team
Villa made three changes, bringing on defenders Pau Torres and Lucas Digne and winger Jadon Sancho for Tyrone Mings, Maatsen and Leon Bailey.
Goalkeeper Marco Bizot returned to the bench after suspension, accompanied by new winger Alysson, who had not played since his debut against Brighton & Hove Albion on February 11 and has missed two games through injury since then.
Midfielders John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara were left out.
Aston Villa starting eleven: Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, Jadon Sancho, Amadou Onana, Morgan Rogers, Douglas Luiz, Emiliano Buendia, Ollie Watkins
Aston Villa substitutes:Marco Bizot, Victor Lindelof, Tyrone Mings, Ross Barkley, Tammy Abraham, Ian Maatsen, Lamare Bogarde, Leon Bailey, Alysson
Wolves vs Aston Villa Stats
- Wolves have won five of their last seven Premier League home games against Villa (D1 L1) and are unbeaten in five since a 1-0 defeat in December 2020.
- Rob Edwards’ side have failed to score in 15 different Premier League games this season, the most in the league. Only in 2009/10 (17) and 2021/22 (16) have they failed more in a single campaign
- Each of Wolves’ previous seven Premier League wins (dating back to March 2025) had been against teams in the bottom seven, with those teams occupying an average position of 17th. They had not won in 17 games against top-half sides (D5 L12) since the 1-0 win at Bournemouth in February 2025.
- Their record of conceding first goals in 22 different Premier League games this season is the worst of any team. Of the 40 teams that played more than 200 games in the competition, the Wolves were the first to concede goals at the highest percentage (59.6%, in 266 of 446 games).
- Villa had won three of their previous four Premier League games against Wolves (L1), as many as in their previous 15 (D6 L6).
- They failed to complete a first division double in the match for the first time since 2003/04
- Since a run of eight straight Premier League wins between November 9 and December 27 this season, Villa have not had a repeat result in any of their last 10 games (LWDLWLDWDL), last drawing in consecutive games in September against Everton and Sunderland.
- Three of Villa’s last four Premier League goals have been scored during the last five minutes of regulation time (88, 86 and 88), while they have scored 63.2% of their goals during the second half of games (24/38).
- Only in 2015/16 (70.4%), 1999/00 (69.6%) and 2007/08 (66.2%) did they score a higher proportion of second-half goals in a Premier League season.
What’s next for Wolves and Aston Villa? Calendar, calendar
Wolves host one of the teams chasing Villa, Liverpool, twice a week: in the league on Tuesday (8:15 p.m.) and in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday (8:15 p.m.).
Villa will host Chelsea on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.), then visit French side Lille in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie on March 12 (5:45 p.m.).
