It was completely fitting that one of the most bad-tempered matches of the season should end in a spat between the two managers.

After spending more nearly 110 minutes watching their players try to wind one another up, there was no full-time handshake between Wolves boss Gary O’Neil and Villa manager Unai Emery, who walked down the tunnel as O’Neil was speaking to the officials without shaking hands.

‘I was moaning at the fourth official about playing for so long and Unai did not want to wait for the handshake so he went to walk down the tunnel, no problem,’ said O’Neil.

‘It was nothing,’ added Emery. ‘I wanted to tell him congratulations but he was speaking with the fourth official and l left – simply.’

Pau Torres earned Aston Villa a point against Wolves with his first goal for Unai Emery’s side

Mario Lemina was sent off late on for Wolves after picking up two yellow cards

Douglas Luiz avoided punishment after appearing to strike Hwang Hee-Chan in the face

It was remarkable that the game remained 11 v 11 until stoppage time, when Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina was sent off for a second booking.

Craig Dawson and John McGinn treated the first half as an audition for WWE wrestling and Douglas Luiz somehow avoided punishment for a forearm smash on Hwang Hee Chan.

They were far from the only guilty ones in a nonsense of a first half. Was this really the best a bunch of millionaires at the top of the game could do to entertain nearly 32,000 fans who had paid handsomely to watch them?

Luckily for those inside Molineux, the second half was a little more fun. Hwang gave Wolves the lead soon after taking that blow in the face from Luiz only for Pau Torres – who had been at fault – to equalise with his first goal for Aston Villa soon afterwards. Pedro Neto could have won it for Wolves while Jose Sa made fine saves from Matty Cash and Ollie Watkins, who headed against the post in the final act.

Emery brought back his main men after rotating for the midweek win over Zrinjski Mostar and they nearly combined to give Villa an early lead. Moussa Diaby crossed from the right and the unmarked Torres should have done better than head wide from eight yards.

Then made an important stop to keep out Cash’s volley. Moments later, McGinn was just off target from 35 yards. That was after 15 minutes – and for the remainder of the first half the sides largely forgot about football and focused instead on winding one another up.

At every one, Dawson and McGinn held grappling contests straight out of a primary school playground. Both men were later booked – Dawson for a foul on Watkins and McGinn for flattening Neto.

Wolves only proper chance of the opening period came when Rayan Ait-Nouri steered Hwang’s cross just wide. Ait-Nouri was soon on the deck after he was pole-axed by Cash, though that challenge at least looked accidental. With the first half nearly over, Dawson and Mario Lemina raced out to block Douglas Luiz’s effort from inside the box.

Seconds after the restart, there was finally a little quality. McGinn’s ball from the left was skilfully volleyed goalwards by Watkins only for Sa to flick it impressively over the bar. It did not take long for normal service to resume, however, as Hwang took a forearm in the face from Luiz had to be patched up at length.

Hwang paid back Villa in the most effective way. Neto motored beyond Torres and when his cut-back deflected off Lucas Digne, Hwang was positioned perfectly to guide it home inside the six-yard box.

Yet in the blink of an eye, Torres redeemed himself by bringing Villa level. When Wolves failed to clear a Villa free-kick, Watkins clipped the ball back into the danger zone and Torres sneaked around the back of Nelson Semedo to steer beyond Sa. Wolves had been ahead for only two minutes – yet still Emery had a face like thunder in the dugout.

Following another tussle between Hwang and Luiz, the Wolves man hit the deck again after the Brazilian appeared to push him, yet VAR John Brooks did not investigate further. Emery had been agitated all game and it was no surprise when he was booked midway through the half.

Wolves could have forged ahead with a brilliant break that saw substitute Sasa Kalajdzic put in a delightful ball for Neto, who skied it with his weaker right foot at the far post.

As 12 minutes’ stoppage time were announced, sub Leon Bailey released Watkins, who seemed to be pushed by Matt Doherty as he shot. Again, nothing was awarded but referee Rob Jones finally lost patience and gave Lemina a second yellow card for pulling back Nicolo Zaniolo.

Luiz had another effort from promising range blocked and from the corner, sub Zaniolo nearly turned Bailey’s flick on into the far corner. The visitors were finishing strongly and from another neat move, Sa denied Ezri Konsa from 10 yards. But he could only stand and watch as in the 14th minute of added time, Watkins headed Luiz’s cross against the base of the post and seconds later Jones blew for time.

Wolves’ Craig Dawson and Villa’s John McGinn were regularly involved in altercations throughout the 90 minutes

Hwang gave Wolves the lead with his fifth goal of the season, guiding home a Pedro Neto cross

Torres redeemed himself with a goal after being easily beaten by Neto in the build-up to Wolves’ opener