Emery delighted with second-half fightback

Unai Emery was delighted to see another spirited second-half comeback after Aston Villa beat Wolves 3-1.

Villa were sub-par in the opening 45 minutes on Saturday and fell behind through Matheus Cunha’s goal.

Yet, as was the case last weekend against Everton, Villa fought back, and ultimately prevailed thanks to second-half goals from Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Jhon Duran.

Villa have won four games out of five in the Premier League this season, and Emery was thrilled with the energy of his side after their Champions League exploits in midweek against Young Boys.

He told BBC Sport: “We want to win matches easier than we did. We are showing how difficult it is to win in the Premier League – last week against Everton [0-2 to win 3-2].

“We were suffering in the first half but the second half was completely different. I am very happy because we won. It was very important we changed our energy and we played to win in the second half.”

Emery was also pleased with Duran’s performance, as the Colombian came off the bench once again to score his fourth league goal of the season.

He said: “Good impact again. The most important thing is we won. We will need all the players in the matches we play in the next few weeks.”

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Gary O’Neil, meanwhile, wants to see more fight from his side throughout the entire 90 minutes.

Villa’s second-half comeback means Wolves are still without a win this season and sit at the foot of the Premier League table.

“We need to behave and act like a team scrapping for everything,” said O’Neil. “We have to make sure we are better when it gets tough.

“The first half we played very well. No team comes here and wins at a canter. It was not like they were banging the door down. But when we need to fight we need to do it better.”