Wolverhampton Wanderers moved out of the Premier League relegation zone thanks to a 2-0 win at Molineux over West Midlands rivals Aston Villa.
The hosts opened the scoring after just 12 minutes as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde lashed home at the near post following a clever through-ball from Pablo Sarabia.
Vitor Pereira’s men defended resolutely to keep the visitors out before Matheus Cunha scored a superb solo effort deep in stoppage time to seal the win.
Villa thought they had equalised shortly after the interval as substitute Donyell Malen tapped home following a clever free-kick routine but the goal was controversially ruled out for an infringement by Morgan Rogers, who was in an offside position.
It was a thoroughly deserved three points for Wolves, though, who had a host of opportunities to double their lead before the break before putting in a cohesive defensive display in the second half.
Cunha and Goncalo Guedes were both denied by Emi Martinez in one-on-one situations, while Guedes dragged another chance wide from a similar position.
Following defeats for Leicester City and Ipswich Town earlier in the day, Wolves’ first win in five league games moved them up to 17th, two points ahead of The Foxes and three ahead of Kieran McKenna’s men.
It appeared to be more good news for Wolves at full-time as Cunha, who has been heavily linked with moves elsewhere this January, kissed and tapped the crest on his shirt in front of the fans.
Unai Emery’s side, who once again appeared to be suffering a hangover from European exploits in midweek, struggled to create chances of note in what was a disappointing performance.
They came closest to levelling the tie when Leon Bailey’s effort from inside the box was blocked well by Emmanuel Agbadou before Malen was denied from close range by Jose Sa late on.
Emery made four changes at the break after a lacklustre opening period but it did not have the desired effect as Villa remained in eighth and missed the chance to go within one point of the top four.
His side will look to return to winning ways in the league in two weeks’ time as they take on Ipswich at home, while Wolves travel to Anfield to take on league leaders Liverpool.
It is FA Cup fourth-round duties up next though for both teams, with Wolves travelling to Blackburn Rovers and Villa hosting Tottenham Hotspur.