
Aston Villa returns from their painful FA Cup semi-final defeat with a determined performance, recording three points against Fulham to boost their chances of playing in the next Champions League.
The English team under Unai Emery as head coach lost 3-0 at Wembley to Crystal Palace, while they fought back with resilience at Craven Cottage.
The first goal of the game was scored just 12 minutes after the match commenced by Youri Tielemans by putting a header into the net, a header from John McGinn to give Aston Villa an early opportunity.
Aston Villa could have earned another goal earlier if Ollie Watkins had not missed the opportunity to find the back of the net. He was not able to convert a fine low cross from Matty Cash.
Fulham thought they had cancelled Villa’s goal through an equaliser from Ryan Sessegnon, but his goal was ruled out by the referee for handball. Bernd Leno denied Ollie Watkins from scoring through a beautiful save with his legs, while an opportunity made by Donyell Malen hit the crossbar late on.
Villa did not give up as it held firm in its defence, as Fulham rarely had the opportunity to test Emiliano Martinez. The victory put the team on the same points as Chelsea, which is in fifth place on the Premier League table, and Nottingham Forest in sixth position.
Fulham has dropped to ninth position on the league table with the defeat and may likely drop into the bottom half of the table depending on the results of the other teams.