Premier League

UNAI EMERY will be even more desperate to land Marcus Rashford after his side drew a blank at lowly Wolves.Villa might be £70million richer this weekend following the sale of Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr.Wolves won the Midlands Derby against Aston VillaCredit: GettyWolves ace Jean-Ricner Bellegarde scored the opener against VillaCredit: GettyVilla boss Unai Emery’s top-four hopes were dealt a major blowCredit: GettyVilla were denied an equaliser against Wolves by VARCredit: RexBut it was Vitor Pereira’s men who cashed in as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde gave them a first-half lead before Villa target Matheus Cunha finished the job seven minutes into stoppage time.How Emery must wish Wolves would do business and let him have his brilliant Brazilian! When Ollie Watkins limped off at half-time following a clash with Jose Sa, and never returned, it would usually have been the cue to send on super-sub Duran.But the Colombian was already counting his dosh in Saudi Arabia following his £70m transfer and, without their talismanic back-up striker, Villa blanked out.Read More on FootballMeanwhile Wolves were left to celebrate a crucial and deserved win which lifted them out of the relegation zone, two points clear of Leicester.Emery hadn’t lost a Premier League match against a team in the drop zone in 18 matches with Villa.But it wasn’t long before that record looked in jeopardy as Wolves made an early breakthrough after 12 minutes.It was a classy move which belied their lowly league position as they moved the ball around with precision and pace.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSCunha fed Goncalo Guedes and he squared the ball to Pablo Sarabia who threaded a neat ball in behind the Villa backline.Bellegarde made a darting diagonal run on the blindside of Boubacar Kamara and found himself with just Emi Martinez to beat.Man Utd and Arsenal in Matheus Cunha transfer battle with Wolves star ready to make summer moveIt would have been so easy for Bellegarde to panic or look to pass the buck.However, he lashed the ball right-footed beyond Martinez from nine yards to send Molineux wild.It was the perfect way for Bellegarde to mark his 50th appearance for Wolves as he bagged his first goal at Molineux. And it exposed the fragility of Villa’s makeshift defence which saw new £6m Spanish right-back Andres Garcia team up with stop-gap centre-half Kamara for the first time.Injuries to Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres, and Diego Carlos’ departure to Fenerbahce, had left Emery scrambling for defensive options.And though Kamara had been a stand-out stand-in against Celtic on Wednesday, the big Frenchman was caught napping and failed to scan his area or spot the threat of Bellegarde’s well-timed run.Villa tried to fight backThat goal appeared to knock the stuffing out of Villa, who had started brightly enough.Garcia swept over a raking cross from the right and Nelson Semedo did well to get a vital header in front of Ollie Watkins, who was waiting to pounce at the back post.Lucas Digne worked the resulting corner short to Youri Tielemans who crashed in a shot which Sarabia managed to get his head to and deflect for another corner.But Wolves’ goal gave them something to hold onto and Villa became desperate and there were bookings for John McGinn for stamping on Rayan Ait-Nouri’s toes and Morgan Rogers for pulling down Toti.Sarabia then completed a hat-trick of yellow cards when he was booked for sarcastically applauding the assistant ref for flagging him offside.Villa were looking more ragged than a tramp’s vest and Kamara wasn’t having as enjoyable a night as he had against Celtic.Ollie Watkins injuredWolves almost capitalised on his naivety when Cunha chased down a through ball and ragdolled Kamara to burst through on goal.However, Martinez denied him with a brilliant diving save and when the ball broke to Guedes he fired inches wide from 20 yards.Villa were wobbling and Kamara had to stretch to head over a wicked delivery from a Sarabia free-kick before Guedes fired wide with only Martinez to beat.The half ended when Martinez sprinted off his line to brilliantly block Guedes who was through on goal again. Emery had seen enough and made four changes at the break.Worryingly for Villa one of those was the departure of Watkins, who picked up a knock in a first-half clash with Sa and didn’t appear for the second half.Villa denied equaliserEmery thought his changes had paid off when Villa appeared to pull level after 53 minutes from a slick free-kick.Leon Bailey disguised a pass to McGinn on the left and the Scot delivered a low centre which sub Donyell Malen bundled in at the back post.However specialist VAR Matt Donohue stepped in and judged that Rogers had come from an offside position to block off Semedo – and despite minimal contact – the goal was chalked off.Moments later it was Wolves’ turn to curse VAR when Malen appeared to clip Toti’s heel to send him sprawling in the Villa box.But Donohue ruled that no offence had taken place to Wolves’ bewilderment.Villa had rallied but Wolves were fighting for their lives. They were given some light relief when a substitute board cock-up saw Guedes go off – then reappear from the dug-out again – when it was realised Ait-Nouri was actually the player supposed to be subbed!READ MORE SUN STORIESThat wasted three minutes to Emery’s frustration and his mood didn’t improve when Sa got down well to beat out a fierce 20-yarder from Malen.Then Tielemans blazed wildly over following a corner.Matheus Cunha sealed the three points for WolvesCredit: PACunha scored during stoppage time for WolvesCredit: AFP More

IT IS impossible, surely, that Southampton will dig themselves out of trouble.But at the very least, having secured only their second win of the season and opening three points under new boss Ivan Juric, Saints will not be setting an unwanted Premier League record this season.Paul Onuachu ‘s late winner gave Saints second win of the seasonCredit: PAAribo’s flying volley from a deflected cross came out of nowhere to put Saints upCredit: ReutersLiam Delap equalised in the 31st minuteCredit: GettyOnuachu secured Saint’s first away game of the seasonCredit: GettyIvan Juric and his staff were jubilant, while Kieran McKenna was defeatedCredit: GettyPaul Onuachu stunned Ipswich by grabbing an unlikely 87th minute winner after Liam Delap cancelled out Joe Aribo’s opening goal.As you would expect, Southampton’s fans – having witnessed six successive top-flight losses – were in jubilant mood at the end while Michael Oliver’s final whistle was met with jeers from the home crowd.This means Saints on nine points so are still some way off safety. But over the next few weeks, however bad they might be – and they really are not very good – Southampton will overtake Derby’s embarrassing, record-low tally of 11 points from the 2007-08 season.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSIn what has been a terrible season, you can understand why many believed Southampton were going to be crowned worst of the worst.As for Ipswich, this was a really poor result. And, they could not end up getting a complex against south coast clubs. They were leading Bournemouth 1-0 here in December until the 87th minute and they ended up losing 2-1.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSBut this defeat was even worse as it was against a side Ipswich really needed to beat if they were to have realistic hopes of staying up. Kieran McKenna’s team could still do it, but it will not be easy.Liam Delap talks about joining Ipswich Town The problem is that despite their possession, Ipswich have little goal threat, other than £20million summer signing Delap, and while he has struck nine times, he cannot do everything on his own.The other problem is that Ipswich have bungling keeper Aro Muric in goal for the next month due to an injury to Christian Walton.Muric could have done better for both goals in what was a hugely frustrating day for McKenna with Ipswich having failed to win any of their last five Premier League games.Saints took the lead when Mateus Fernandes’ cross took a heavy deflection off home defender Jacob Greaves and it fell perfectly for Aribo. He had arrived inside the area completely unchallenged, something which will infuriate McKenna.Southampton fans sang ‘can we play you every week’Credit: PAKyle Walker-Peters celebrated with the away endCredit: PASaints, who are on nine points, are still some way off safetyCredit: ReutersAribo’s volley took a bounce before Muric made a terrible attempt to keep the ball out and the Kosovan gave the impression he was trying to usher it into the net.Delap, having wasted one chance to equalise, swept the ball past Aaron Ramsdale after overcoming a feeble challenge from Southampton centre-half Jan Bednarke after a superbly-weighted through ball by Nathan Broadhead.Juric replaced Taylor Harwood-Bells at the break for Jack Stephens but the club skipper – who had not played for nearly two months due to suspension and injury – was on the pitch for just 11 minutes before needing to be replaced by Will Smallbone due to a muscle injury.Ipswich will be disappointed at not testing Ramsdale more in the second half although when they did, Delap fired straight at the England keeper’s feet.READ MORE SUN STORIESAnd at the end, disaster struck for the Tractor Boys when Muric could only parry a shot from Kamaldeen Sulemana into the path of Onuachu who was never going to miss.At the end, Southampton’s fans sang “can we play you every week” and little wonder.Kieran McKenna’s side remain in the relegation zoneCredit: Reuters More

ABDOULAYE DOUCOURE created history as David Moyes continued his re-birth of Everton at the speed of sound.But for Ruud van Nistlerooy there was only more misery as Leicester City went down to an eighth league defeat in nine… and on the evidence of this collapse are going down.Everton swept Leicester aside after flying out of the blocksCredit: ReutersAbdoulaye Doucoure found the net with just 10.18 seconds on the clockCredit: AFPOnly 10.18 seconds were on the clock as Doucoure ran on to a whack down-field from Jordan Pickford and waltzed past the wallflowers around him to smash home.The Mali international’s strike was the fourth–fastest ever in the Premier League and the quickest by a home team in the competition.By the sixth minute, Beto had doubled the lead – that blue blur of a start sending the Toffees towards a third successive win for the first time since last April.Beto kept the momentum going two minutes into first-half stoppage time with his side’s third to leave Everton’s fans dancing in the aisles before Iliman Ndiaye tapped home as the clock hit 90.READ MORE ON FOOTBALLMoyes’ entrance as successor to sacked Sean Dyche and a return for a second stint in charge was marked by a 1-0 Goodison Park defeat to Aston Villa.That reverse, a third in a row, left the team that Moyes took over only a point above the drop zone.But they ended this game TEN points clear of third-bottom Wolves before they kicked off their tea-time clash with Villa – and even above Tottenham who drop to 16th – while the Foxes are falling fast again.The Scotsman wouldn’t dream of saying out loud that his return after a dozen years away is now steering the club to safety but he will quietly know that only complete disaster can stop that.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSEven the fact that the squad has been devastated by injury has done nothing to stop lift-off after that first loss on his return.Dominic Calvert-Lewin is out for ten weeks with hamstring trouble, on-loan midfielder Orel Mangala is going back to Lyon after suffering an ACL knee injury and winger Dwight McNeil is still recovering from knee surgery.‘That’s better than Shrek’ jokes Wayne Rooney as Roy Keane reveals Hollywood star people mistake him for in the streets Another striker in Armando Broja, on loan from Chelsea, faces a further six weeks’ absence as well with knee problems.Yet in Beto, the frontman who Dyche never could get a song out of, he has an alternative suddenly showing the power that persuaded the ex–boss to sign him for £26million from Udinese 18 months ago.The 27-year-old had only scored one Prem goal all season, his minutes strictly limited by Dyche’s preference for DCL.Yet here he was loving it under Moyes, running on to James Tarkowski’s pass and beyond Wout Faes to curve the ball around Mads Hermansen as cool as you like.James Garner, making his first start in four months after plenty of injury problems of his own, then delivered a brilliant, high-precision 30-yard pass and Beto again left Faes and Co for dead.Between those goals, the former Manchester United midfielder also hit Hermansen’s right-hand post.All-time quickest Premier League goalsApr 23, 2019: Shane Long (Southampton) at Watford – 7.69 secondsMar 4, 2023: Philip Billing (Bournemouth) at Arsenal – 9.11 secondsDec 9, 2000: Ledley King (Tottenham) at Bradford – 9.82 secondsFEB 1, 2025: ABDOULAYE DOUCOURE (Everton) v Leicester – 10.18 secondsJan 18, 2003: Alan Shearer (Newcastle) v Man City – 10.52 secondsJan 31, 2018: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) v Man Utd – 10.54 secondsMar 17, 2001: Mark Viduka (Leeds) at Charlton – 11.90 secondsSep 30, 1995: Dwight Yorke (Aston Villa) at Coventry – 12.16 secondsApr 1, 1995: Chris Sutton (Blackburn) at Everton – 12.94 secondsJan 10, 2004: Kevin Nolan (Bolton) at Blackburn – 13.48 secondsDoucoure should also have claimed his second in the 45th minute but was leaning back when he connected with Vitaliy Mykolenko’s perfect lay–off.All of which tells the story of the Foxes’ first half in which they couldn’t even run for cover.And going forward? Forget it. Veteran Jamie Vardy had been allowed just nine touches when he was replaced by Patson Daka and hour in.Van Nistelrooy would have hoped that the shock 2-1 win at Tottenham last weekend would have inspired his side.READ MORE SUN STORIESYet they were left shell-shocked by that lightning opener and never got over it, Ndiyae adding a fourth in the final minute when Faes and Caleb Okoli ran into each other.Van Nistlerooy, just a dozen games into the job, has won only two of those in the Prem and if he’s not already looking over his shoulder then he should be.Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.Doucoure was all smiles after the perfect startCredit: GettyBeto got his second and third Prem goals of the seasonCredit: ReutersIliman Ndiaye could not miss as he scored the fourthCredit: RexRuud van Nistelrooy’s side came crashing back down to earth after the win at SpursCredit: ReutersJamie Vardy touched the ball nine timesCredit: ReutersWout Faes was at the thick of the actionCredit: Getty More