Express & Star

Matt Maher: Belief is key as Unai Emery's Aston Villa hit comeback trail again

Saturday is what happens when a team brimming with belief meets one increasingly bereft of it.

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For just about an hour, Wolves handled Villa in a way few others have during Unai Emery’s reign.

The biggest criticism which could be aimed at Gary O’Neil’s men was they were not winning by more than Matheus Cunha’s 25th-minute opener.

But when the tide turned, Wolves were washed away in wave after wave of Villa attack. Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Jhon Duran all scored as the visitors crumbled and the hosts stormed back to win from a losing position for the second weekend running.

Villa have won four of their first five Premier League matches, equalling their best start to a season since 1998.

Wolves, by contrast, haven’t begun this badly since 2003 and while it remains early days and a tough fixture list provides some modicum of mitigation, there are just the first sounds of a few alarm bells ringing.

A propensity to concede goals – it is now 17 Premier League matches without a clean sheet stretching back to February – is not the only concerning pattern.

Just as against Chelsea and Newcastle, Wolves performed rather well in periods but were unable to deliver a complete performance.

Again, they faded badly. Watkins’ equaliser came as much from Duran’s desire to win a loose ball than the preceding, unfortunate flick off Mario Lemina.