With each Wolves near-miss, it was impossible to ignore the growing stench of a smuggled 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 move up to third, for a few hours at least, 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 saw 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.
Wolves returned with the same aggression after the half-time interval and seven minutes after the restart Toti Gomes shut down a Donyell Malen run, the visitors accelerated forward on the counter. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde beat Matty Cash down the left flank and then rolled an inviting ball across the Villa goal and to the edge of the six-yard box where Strand Larsen anticipated a tap-in. Enter Pau Torres, who raked the ball clean from Strand Larsen and left the Wolves striker in a heap. Martínez leant against the base of his left post, like a drunkard seeking support at the bar.
