Aston Villa made history with their 3-1 home win over Fulham in the Premier League as it was their 13th home win in the competition in a row. It is their longest run in the top flight since October 1983.
The win is Unai Emery’s side’s 14th home win of the calendar year, as many as the previous two years combined!
Although impressive, Emery has warned that players and supporters must keep their feet firmly on the floor and only look to the next game. Villa will face a real test after the International break which should shape how their season should unfold when they visit Tottenham Hotspur before welcoming Arsenal and Manchester City in their next four Premier League fixtures.
Report: Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham
Aston Villa’s Premier League XI pretty much picks itself these days given our injuries but Emery shocked many with the inclusion of Youri Tielemans as both Leon Bailey and Nicolò Zaniolo had to settle for places on the bench.
The game didn’t start in the usual fast-flowing Aston Villa style we have become accustomed to of late as the game was very stop-start.
The home side did come close through Moussa Diaby after some high-pressing but Bernd Leno in the Fulham goal was equal to the Frenchman’s effort.
The visitors then thought they had gifted Villa a penalty when the referee pointed to the spot after Timothy Castagne was judged to have handballed in the area. VAR revealed the ball had hit the Belgian in the face and the decision was overruled. More bizarrely, the referee then gave Fulham a drop ball despite the ball going out for a corner before the penalty claim.
Fulham looked like a side who came to Villa Park trying not to lose but the deadlock was broken just before the half-hour mark. Tielemans curled the ball from the left towards Diaby and the ball went in off Antonee Robinson.
Villa came close to doubling their lead shortly after when Matty Cash was denied following an impressive run. The advantage was doubled three minutes before the break when the ball fell to John McGinn and the Scot was able to fire past Leno from the edge of the box.
Fulham made a change at half-time as Harry Wilson replaced Bobby De Cordova-Reid and they appeared to have responded well from the break. Former Wolves striker Raúl Jiménez was denied by the woodwork after being teed up by Alex Iwobi.
Jiménez and Iwobi once again linked up but this time it was the chance of the Nigerian but he could only drag his effort wide of the goal.
The visitors looked the more likely of the two to score but it was the home side who made it 3-0 as substitute Bailey picked out Ollie Watkins who was able to slot home and score his 11th goal in all competitions this season.
Fulham pulled one back through Jiménez who scored his first Premier League goal since March 2022. And the visitors thought they had a second but Carlos Vinicius was left frustrated when his goal was ruled out for offside.
What the managers said
Unai Emery: “It’s special for everyone. We connected very well with our supporters. We had control of the game in the first half. It was important for us to get the first goal (in the second half) but when they scored we needed to try to control the game and be consistent in our game plan and we were.
“We are the best-scoring team in the league. It’s important because we’re showing our potential but we have to be stronger defensively.
“We had more control in the first half. We lost control of the game. They were trying to attack us and get behind and push a lot with some players.”
Marco Silva: “The way we played in the second half, we showed our quality. The first half, no. Some details I don’t like to call unlucky. Another own goal. Even the second goal, two players fight for the ball. They’re not normal things.
“We need to be more relaxed and calm. We have to express ourselves on the ball. The first half not enough, second half completely different but it was 2-0. We gave the ball away so easy for the third goal. The reaction and commitment was there. We had a chance to make it 3-2 and it would be different until the end.”
What’s next?
Aston Villa will travel to North London to take on Tottenham after the international break on Sunday, 26th November. Fulham will host Wolves the day after on Monday.
