Aston Villa vs Fulham LIVE: Premier League result and reaction
Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham: Unai Emery’s Villa defeated the Cottagers to get back to winning ways
Aston Villa kept the pressure on the top four with a confident victory over Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. Unai Emery’s men needed a response after losing to Nottingham Forest last time out and dominated from the start against the Cottagers.
The deadlock was broken through an Antonee Robinson own goal which was the result of constant pressure from Villa before John McGinn doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time.
When Ollie Watkins added a third four minutes after the hour mark, Villa had the game well in hand meaning a simple miss from Watkins later in the match didn’t cost them. Raul Jimenez pulled one back for Fulham who started to click with quarter of an hour to go but there wasn’t enough time left in the match for them to truly trouble Villa.
Relive all the action from Villa Park below:
Aston Villa vs Fulham
As Aston Villa have won every Premier League game they've taken the lead in this season - and Fulham have picked up just one point after going behind - the writing is perhaps on the wall already. Still, there's plenty of time left to play at Villa Park.
Aston Villa vs Fulham
Fulham are definitely growing in confidence now, having survived some early pressure. However, Aston Villa's high defensive line does its job again, as Willian is caught offside just inside the home side's half.
Aston Villa vs Fulham
After a swift passing move in the final third, Iwobi's cutback from the right byline picks out Pereira just inside Villa's area. The latter's shot forces Martinez to dive across and make a sharp save, but Iwobi was offside in any case, and the hosts will have a free-kick.
Aston Villa vs Fulham
After Tielemans makes a superb sliding tackle deep in his own half, McGinn drives forward from midfield and some space opens up for Villa's captain. However, his layoff to Diaby in the box is delayed just too long and the French forward's shot is blocked, before the assistant's flag is raised for offside.
Aston Villa vs Fulham
Villa are on a run of four straight home wins against Fulham - two in the Premier League and two in the Championship - while the London club's only league victory in their past 19 visits to Villa Park came back in April 2014. The early evidence suggests those trends could continue today.
Aston Villa vs Fulham
Joao Palhinha is back on his feet now and resumes his role in Fulham's midfield, as Villa pick up where they left off and push forward again.
Aston Villa vs Fulham
Having been clattered by Konsa in a 50-50 challenge, Joao Palhinha is left in a heap on the soggy Villa Park turf, and the action is paused while he receives treatment.
Aston Villa vs Fulham
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the hosts have had 72 per cent of the possession thus far, and their passing accuracy is some 20 per cent higher than Fulham's. Aston Villa are a formidable team to conquer on home turf right now, and their latest visitors have started quite meekly.
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