By Jonathan Veal, PA
Jhon Duran continued his super-sub role as he came off the bench to complete a rousing Aston Villa comeback in a 3-1 victory against Wolves.
It looked like Villa were going to suffer a Champions League hangover after their midlands rivals took a first-half lead through Matheus Cunha.
Unai Emery’s men were distinctly off-colour for the opening 60 minutes but came to life and levelled through Ollie Watkins in the 73rd minute before taking the lead in the 88th through Ezri Konsa.
Duran climbed off the bench to find the net for the fourth time in five Premier League games this season, sweeping home in the third minute of time added on.
Victory continued Villa’s excellent start to the season as they won a fourth match and the early signs of a repeat top-four challenge are looking promising.
For Wolves, this was a second successive capitulation after losing two goals in the final 15 minutes against Newcastle last weekend.
They remain winless and with Liverpool to come next weekend, boss Gary O’Neil could be starting to feel the pressure.
One of the biggest challenges Villa face this season is how they respond after midweek European games, especially when they travel, and the early evidence is that it could be a problem.
After a midweek win in Switzerland against Young Boys, they were sluggish in the opening exchanges and deservedly fell behind in the 25th minute.
They contributed to their own downfall as they were punished for some dangerous playing out from the back, with Diego Carlos passing straight to Cunha, who gleefully curled into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Wolves were playing well and should have doubled their lead but Rayan Ait-Nouri could not connect with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s pull-back and his volley trickled wide.
The visitors had another big chance to double their lead shortly before half-time when Yerson Mosquera’s curling ball sent Jorgen Strand Larsen through on goal, but he lacked conviction and his shot was well saved by Emiliano Martínez.
Villa assumed control after the break, but it took them until the 68th minute to test Wolves’ defence as Leon Bailey’s cross was met by Watkins, whose header was cleared off the line by Mosquera.
The visitors had kept Villa at arm’s length but all of a sudden it looked like it was going to be a long final 20 minutes.
Indeed, they could not hold out beyond the 73rd minute as Watkins levelled for Villa.
A loose ball fell kindly for Morgan Rogers, and he fed the England striker, whose finish deflected off Craig Dawson and into the net.
A long injury break to Mosquera, who appeared to suffer a serious knee injury, could not halt Villa’s momentum, and they went ahead two minutes from the end of normal time when Konsa poked home Youri Tieleman’s cross at the far post.
Duran sealed the comeback by sweeping into an empty net from Morgan Rogers’ cross to seal the points.
