Unai Emery's X-rated response sums up Aston Villa win as Ian Maatsen makes 'scary' demand

BirminghamLive brings you the talking points from Aston Villa's dramatic win over Wolves at Villa Park

For only the fourth time in Premier League history, Aston Villa claimed their fourth win in their first five games to a season after Unai Emery's side came from behind in successive home games to defeat Wolves 3-1.

Everton, who had been two up at Villa Park last weekend, were defeated 3-2 after goals from Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran and the two strikers were on the scoresheet again on Saturday to beat their West Midlands rivals. After Watkins' leveller, Ezri Konsa scored at the back post from Youri Tielemans' sensational cross.

Wolves had opened the scoring in the 25th minute as Matheus Cunha punished Diego Carlos' mistake, but after Watkins and Konsa completed the comeback, Jhon Duran made sure of the points in second half added time by tapping in from Morgan Rogers' cross.

READ | European Cup hero Peter Withe pays tribute to Gary Shaw after Aston Villa legend's passing

READ | John Townley's Aston Villa player ratings after 3-1 win vs Wolves as super-subs change the game

Here are the talking points from Villa's win...

EMERY GIVES X-RATED VERDICT

Villa were restricted to only two shots in the first half, neither of which were on target. After Cunha's opener, Rayan Ait-Nouri had a golden chance to double Wolves' lead, but Carlos was on hand to block his effort from close range.

"We played really **** first half, I didn’t understand why, in the dressing room we were speaking about maybe not having energy, maybe the game plan was a little bit confusing because we were letting them play a lot with ball possession," Emery said on BBC Match of the Day.

"Of course, we want to win matches easier than we did, but the respect of the opponent is clear. We are showing how difficult it is to win matches in the Premier League, last week against Everton and today against Wolves.

"They scored one goal and deserved more, but in the second half it was different. We changed completely. We started pressing more and started jumping up more and taking some risks to reduce the risk.

"We were progressively getting into the box and managed to create chances. In the end of the second half we deserved to win, but of course it was a tough match. We suffered in the first half like I have here, but I am feeling happy because we won."

THE WINNER WAS INEVITABLE

Leon Bailey and Ian Maatsen both came on for the start of the second half, which gave Wolves something else to think about, but Villa were still lacking control in the game.

That came after the introduction of Ross Barkley, while Duran helped cause more problems in the final third. Villa were also able to win the ball back higher up the pitch, which kept Wolves pinned in.

Duran regained possession in the final third before Rogers rolled it to Watkins to put Villa back on level terms in the 73rd minute. Once Villa had restored parity, it felt inevitable that they'd get a second. Just last weekend, the power of Villa Park helped Emery's side through.

"It was very important to change our … I don’t know if it was our game plan, but maybe our energy," Emery said. "We want to build a team, playing and thinking, but sometimes you have to play with your heart and try to use the crowd with the energy they have to support us.

"Maybe not being organised like I usually want, but playing to win. In the first half we didn’t shoot and it was strange how the match was difficult and our performance was really very bad [in the first half]."

TWO POOR FIRST HALVES

While Villa have scored six goals in their last two home matches and collected maximum points, there is a concern that both first halves of football against Everton and Wolves - who are 19th and 20th respectively - were really poor.

After a few changes in the summer, Villa are far from the final product yet, so on one hand it is encouraging that Emery's side are finding ways to win, however he will be leading an inquest as to why his players haven't raced out the blocks in their past two home matches.

"This stadium is amazing, you have to create that atmosphere that you can come back any time," Maatsen told Villa TV about the comeback. "They [fans] gave us the belief to keep believing and we scored three amazing goals.

"It shows that here at Villa Park, it is a special place and any opponent who comes here, it has to feel scary, so we did that again. Very happy."

CLARET & BLUE VERDICT

DURAN DOES IT AGAIN

In the history of the Premier League, only Manchester City's Erling Haaland has a better minutes-per-goal rate than Duran, among players to have scored at least two goals in the competition.

The Colombia international has scored nine Premier League goals across 719 minutes. It's a record which is made even more remarkable considering that he bagged twice in his first 26 appearances.

Duran's goal made sure of the points on Saturday afternoon, but even without it, his impact off the bench was excellent. He is the perfect super-sub, even more so now that he has accepted the plan Emery has for him.

The Villa manager wants to find a way to start both Watkins and Duran, but right now, his impact in the final 30 minutes of matches has been so effective, does he want to risk losing that safety net?

TOUCHING TRIBUTES FOR SHAW

Konsa admitted it was an emotional week for the club after the passing of club legend Gary Shaw. Emery dedicated the win over Young Boys to the European Cup champion, and Konsa said after the win against Wolves that he and his teammates were determined to win at Villa Park in front of Shaw's family.

Villa fans, joined by Wolves supporters, remembered Shaw before kick-off with a minute's applause, while a seat in the press box was left empty, where he would used to sit when he carried out statistics work. There were also wreaths laid next to the William McGregor statue outside the Trinity Road Stand.

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