Bottom club Wolves shock high-flying Aston Villa at Molineux

WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — João Gomes scored his first Premier League goal of the season and Rodrigo Gomes added a second in stoppage time to give bottom club Wolverhampton a shock 2-0 win over high-flying Aston Villa on Friday.

It was only the second win in the league for a club that remains six points adrift at the bottom of the table and is almost certain to be relegated.

However, there was no hiding the joy felt by the home players and fans who were ecstatic at beating their Midlands rival.

“You have to be pretty good to get a result like that against them,” coach Rob Edwards said.

“I’m really proud. Nights like this is why I came here. To connect with the supporters like that. I know we are in a difficult position but I love football. I love it on nights like that."

The result was a bitter blow to Villa’s Champions League aspirations and a slap in the face for coach Unai Emery, who was bidding to record his 100th victory in charge of the Birmingham club.

“Now is the moment to be together and understand how the season is going," Emery said. "We need to understand the moment we are in. We were already recovering because we drew two and won one but today we didn’t get the result we needed. It is still in our hands to reach the ambitions in the top positions.”

Both sides struggled in a dour first half but Wolves seized the initiative 16 minutes into the second period when Gomes gave it a surprise lead.

Adam Armstrong deftly cushioned a long pass right into the path of the onrushing Gomes and his superbly struck shot gave Emiliano Martínez no chance.

Villa pushed forward as the game went on and it was caught out in stoppage time when Wolves doubled its lead on the break, Rodrigo Gomes doing the damage.

Villa has won only one of its last five league games. The result leaves it 10 points behind leader Arsenal and five behind second-placed Manchester City, having played a game more than both.

Its next two matches are against the clubs immediately below it in the table, Chelsea and Manchester United.

“We need to keep playing how we are," Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers said. "We are in third for a reason, we need to not forget that. The run lately hasn’t been the same, sometimes you have to come back down to earth as you are playing good teams which you could win or lose. That is the Premier League. We need to stay focused and get back to what we know.

“We didn’t do anywhere near enough to create chances and score goals. “We controlled the game so it isn’t all doom and gloom. They took their chances and we didn’t create enough.”

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Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins, left, and Wolverhampton Wanderers' Yerson Mosquera battle for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match in Wolverhampton, England, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Joao Gomes celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during their English Premier League soccer match against Aston Villa in Wolverhampton, England, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Rodrigo Gomes, left, celebrates scoring their second goal during their English Premier League soccer match against Aston Villa in Wolverhampton, England, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Rodrigo Gomes, left, scores their second goal during their English Premier League soccer match against Aston Villa in Wolverhampton, England, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Rob Edwards celebrates their win after their English Premier League soccer match against Aston Villa in Wolverhampton, England, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — In the moments after Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a Buffalo doughnut shop, surveillance video recorded Nurul Amin Shah Alam stepping gingerly through the empty parking lot in his county-issued jail booties. He pulls up his hood against the cold as he walks past a drive-thru window, then paces away into the night.

Five nights later, the nearly blind refugee from Myanmar was found dead in the street, raising questions about whether federal agents could have done more to ensure his safety when they released him from custody, miles from his home, without informing his family or lawyer.

The video obtained by the Investigative Post shows Shah Alam, 56, after agents dropped him off at a Tim Hortons on the night of Feb. 19, the day he was released from a county jail where he had been held for a year. Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan has said the restaurant was closed at that time.

The nonprofit news site says the footage it obtained shows Shah Alam being let out of the Border Patrol van, which can be seen driving away, then walking by the restaurant's locked front door.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said this week that agents chose “a warm, safe location" for the drop off.

Shah Alam was found dead Tuesday outside the arena where the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres play. A woman called 911 to report his body lying in the sidewalk. It was unclear how he got to that downtown spot from the restaurant several miles away. Buffalo police were reviewing footage throughout the city in an attempt to identify his movements.

The county medical examiner was investigating the cause of death.

Customs and Border Protection have said agents offered Shah Alam “a courtesy ride” to a location near where his family had had once lived, and that he had accepted the ride and showed no signs of distress or disability. The agency did not respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

Buffalo Police had no updates Friday, but on Thursday released body-camera footage of the 2025 incident that led to Shah Alam being jailed for a year.

In the videos, police approach Shah Alam in a snowy backyard as he holds what appear to be two curtain rods. An approaching officer shouts “What are you doing?” and “Put it down” multiple times. Shah Alam, dressed in a hoodie, walks toward the officers, occasionally holding out his hand.

Advocates for the family say Shah Alam wandered into the wrong property when the police were called and that he did not understand the officers’ commands because he did not speak English.

In the body camera videos, one officer says “I'm going to shoot you, dude” before firing Tasers and then taking him to the ground in a struggle and cuffing his hands behind his back. Police say Shah Alam bit two officers.

Shah Alam was initially charged with felony assault, burglary and criminal mischief charges. A federal immigration detainer was issued after his arrest.

The Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo said “a strategic decision” was made not to post bail after his arrest over fears he would be taken into custody by immigration officials. But lawyers advised Shah Alam’s family it was safe to post bail after he pleaded guilty Feb. 9 to two lesser, misdemeanor charges.

He was released from the Erie County Holding Center Feb. 19 after posting bond. The county sheriff's office informed the U.S. Border Patrol about his pending release because of the immigration detainer.

Agents arrived before he was released, according to attorneys and government officials.

He was dropped off at the Tim Hortons that night.

A view of the vicinity of 56 Perry St. Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y., where Nurul Amin Shah Alam was found dead after being dropped off at a coffee shop miles away by Border Patrol agents. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

This image from body camera video provided by the Buffalo Police Department shows Nurul Amin Shah Alam, center, led by Buffalo Police officers after being arrested on charges of assault, burglary and criminal mischief in Buffalo, N.Y., on Feb. 15, 2025. (Buffalo Police Department via AP)

This image made from video provided by WKBW.COM shows a family friend holding a missing person flyer for Nurul Amin Shah Alam, while sitting with other family friends including Khaleda Shah, second from right, and MD Karim, far right, on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (WKBW.COM via AP)

A vehicle rests in the parking lot of a Tim Horton's Coffee and Bakery shop, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y., the site where Nurul Amin Shah Alam, was dropped off after being released by Border Patrol agents last week. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)