Wolves arrived at Villa Park on Saturday evening as the all-conquering leaders ready to put their less talented local rivals in their place, but, to the delight of all Villa fans, they were sent packing with their tails between their legs.
At half-time, with the scores level at 1-1, it looked like the match could go either way, but Villa emerged with the bit between their teeth and tore Wolves apart on the counter with verve.
If anyone said before the match started that Villa would win by three goals, they would have been given swift directions to the closest psychiatric hospital. In fact, many Villa fans probably turned up at Villa Park thinking that the most they could get out of this match was a creditable draw. As it is, this is a night that all Villa fans won’t forget in a hurry.
Below are four things that we learned from Villa’s destruction of Wolves:
Lewis Grabban should be signed permanently
Many saw Grabban as a short-term option who’d grab Villa the odd goal, but he has proven that he is lethal in front of goal. If the price is right, Villa should consider buying him permanently from Bournemouth.
Southgate really should consider Grealish for his England squad
Grealish has come on leaps and bounds and he tore Wolves apart yesterday with his skill and pace. In fact, the only way they could stop him was with cynical fouls. If he carries on playing like this, can Southgate continue to ignore him?
On their day, Villa are the best team in this league
When they play like this, there is not a single team in this league who can compete with them. Bristol found this out at the turn of the year and now Wolves have.
Birkir Bjarnason gave us a glimpse of what he can do
Bjarnason hasn’t had the best of times at Villa Park, but he showed the Villa faithful what he is capable of when he skipped by three Wolves players and fired home from 18 yards.