[Sport] Substitute Anwar El Ghazi converted a stoppage-time penalty as Aston Villa snatched victory in their West Midlands derby at Wolves.

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Wolves had the better of their first home game since striker Raul Jimenez suffered a fractured skull, with Fabio Silva hitting a post midway through the second half.

 

Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez then denied Leander Dendoncker, before the visitors had midfielder Douglas Luiz sent off after picking up a second booking late on.

But Nelson Semedo brought down John McGinn in injury-time, handing El Ghazi the chance to sidefoot home his first goal since January from the spot.

There was still time for the hosts to have midfielder Joao Moutinho dismissed for a second yellow card as Villa clinched their second win in six games, climbing back above their local rivals to eighth in the table.

With Jimenez set for a lengthy absence, Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo gave a first Premier League start to 18-year-old striker Silva, their club record £35.6m summer signing from Porto.

Villa also gave a teenager his first start in England's top flight - 19-year-old midfielder Jacob Ramsey - but with no fans present, this was hardly the baptism of fire you might expect from a regular West Midlands derby.

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No Silva lining in Jimenez's absence

With Wolverhampton still under tier three coronavirus restrictions, supporters have to wait a little longer to return to Molineux.

But they have shown their support for Jimenez by raising £21,000 to pay for a huge banner in the Steve Bull Stand which reads "Fuerza Raul", and they also arranged for an aeroplane to circle the stadium before kick-off, towing a "get well soon" message.

Jimenez's team-mates were still coming to terms with the severity of his injury as they lost 4-0 at Liverpool last weekend but Nuno said the Mexico forward gave everyone "a big lift" when he visited the club's Compton training ground on Wednesday.

Jimenez's injury has hastened Silva's introduction to the starting line-up, after six substitute appearances, and he was a lively frontrunner, with Daniel Podence, Adama Traore and Pedro Neto probing in behind.

Podence had a shot deflected wide from Neto's cutback and a fierce low strike saved, while Dendoncker fired straight at Martinez.

Silva glanced a Moutinho free-kick wide in first-half stoppage time and then almost broke the deadlock when he latched on to Podence's perfectly weighted pass, but his first-time effort came back off the far post.

The Portuguese teenager went close again with an overhead kick, while Martinez made a fine save to keep out Dendoncker's volley from Neto's Rabona cross, but Wolves were undone by a lapse at the back.

Having stuck with a four-man defence, Wolves looked solid for the most part, until McGinn got in behind right-back Semedo to earn the spot-kick.

The perfect away performance - almost

For the most part, this derby did not deliver the same entertainment as Villa's recent defeats by Brighton and West Ham, but manager Dean Smith will surely not care one jot having pulled off another fine result on the road.

Villa have now won four out of five away games in the league and had it not been for Martinez's heroics, and Luiz's red card, you might say it was the perfect away performance.

In the first half they looked comfortable in a 4-3-3 formation, with Ramsey a lively introduction on the left side of midfield.

They were happy to contain Wolves as much as possible, though they rarely threatened themselves despite spending more time in the hosts' final third.

But Villa were straight on the front foot in the second half, with Luiz firing wide and Jack Grealish's free-kick going just over.

Wolves keeper Rui Patricio was also forced to turn a deflected Ollie Watkins strike wide at his near post, yet the hosts managed to take more control and looked the most likely side to claim a late winner.

Then Grealish linked up with McGinn and El Ghazi was allowed to do the honours from the penalty spot, ensuring Villa's excellent start to the season has not gone to waste.

What's next?

Jimenez hopes to be watching from the stands as Wolves host Chelsea on Tuesday (18:00 GMT), before visiting Burnley the following Monday (17:30).

Villa welcome Burnley on Thursday (18:00), then go to West Brom for another local derby next Sunday (19:15).