Wolves beat Aston Villa to secure spot in Premier League

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Julen Lopetegui, left, and midfielder Hwang Hee-chan celebrate after beating Aston Villa 1-0 at the Molineux in Wolverhampton, England on Saturday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Wolverhampton Wanderers dragged out a hard-fought 1-0 win against European-hopefuls Aston Villa on Saturday, putting an end to any lingering relegation fears as they move 10 points clear of 18th-place Nottingham Forest.

Toti Gomes scored the sole goal of the game, heading in his first goal for Wolves just nine minutes into the game.

The following 81 minutes were spent on the defensive as local rivals Villa hammered on the door in a bid to equalize. The visitors were not able to break through, allowing Julen Lopetegui’s team to take their fourth consecutive home victory.

Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan started on the bench, coming on in the 68th minute and immediately disrupting a Villa attack.

With the win, Wolves pulled 10 points clear of 18th-place Nottingham Forest, who have just four games left to play.

Currently in 13th place, Wolves have quickly moved away from relegation worries after Lopetegui took the helm in December, with Saturday’s win finally formalizing that position.

Speaking after the game, Lopetegui, who has previously managed Real Madrid, Sevilla and Spain, said saving Wolves from relegation was his greatest achievement.

“To arrive to 40 points, it’s not mathematical but we’ve achieved our aim,” he said. “I’m very pleased for the club, our fans, the players. It’s been a hard year of progression.

“We arrived in November with 10 points after 15 matches. It was a very bad situation, a lot of people said to me ‘you’re crazy to go there’, but I believed.

“It was a challenge in my life as a coach, it has been the most difficult achievement I’ve achieved, much more so than the Europa League and putting Sevilla three times in the Champions League.”

Saturday’s win came a week after Wolves lost 6-0 to Brighton, who sit one spot above Villa at seventh on the Premier League table.

“To stay in the Premier League after the difficult situation, I am very happy for the players and after our reaction to the last defeat against Brighton, which was a big disappointment,” Lopetegui said.

Wolves will be back in action next Saturday as they take on Manchester United on the road.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]