Aston Villa leave it late in 3-1 win to consign Wolves to bottom of table

BIRMINGHAM : Aston Villa denied Wolverhampton Wanderers their first victory in the Premier League this season after they came from behind to win their West Midlands derby 3-1 at Villa Park with two late goals on Saturday.

Matheus Cunha gave Wolves hope of overcoming their winless start to the season but three second-half goals from Villa leaves the visitors joint-bottom with Everton while Unai Emery's side are third with 12 points.

A debate has raged on about whether Emery should start Ollie Watkins or Jhon Duran - or both together - but it was Watkins who scored the equaliser before Duran gave them a two-goal cushion with his fourth strike as a substitute this season.

"It shows the character and the togetherness we have here. We knew we were not good enough in the first half. We came out firing in the second half and punished them," Ezri Konsa, who gave Villa the lead, told BBC.

After a lively start, Wolves took the lead when Matheus Cunha anticipated a pass from Diego Carlos and timed his run to perfection to nick the ball and skip past a challenge before shooting from outside the box to beat Emi Martinez in goal.

While Villa looked lethargic after their midweek Champions League win away at Young Boys, Wolves played on the front foot and their players were lining up to shoot but Martinez came to the home side's rescue with smart saves.

At the other end, Wolves keeper Sam Johnstone was hardly called into action as Villa went into the break without a shot on target.

But Villa stepped up the pressure in the second half to peg Wolves back and it finally paid off when they levelled the game in the 73rd minute.

A scrap for the ball outside Wolves' box saw it fall to Morgan Rogers and he immediately released Watkins into the box