Aston Villa secured a pivotal 1-0 win over Fulham this weekend as the battle for Champions League qualification becomes increasingly tense.
After consecutive defeats against Manchester City and Crystal Palace in the Premier League and FA Cup respectively, frustration and disappointment had built up ahead of this fixture, with the optimism from such a positive season starting to dissipate.
READ MORE: Why Unai Emery was left furious in touchline reaction during Villa’s win over Fulham
With a chance to still break into the top five and return to the Champions League next season though, there is so much to play for, and so it was fundamental that Villa got a win on Saturday to rebuild confidence and form.
Youri Tielemans’ first-half header proved to be enough to get the desired outcome, and now focus will switch to a difficult trip to Bournemouth next weekend with Villa needing to pick up three more valuable points.
Win most important thing this weekend
Naturally, it would have been ideal if it was a more convincing win, but the crucial thing this weekend was the result, as Villa had to win by any means to not only bounce back from a torrid week or so, but to ensure we keep ourselves in the hunt for Champions League football next season.
Morale would have been low, especially after last weekend’s loss at Wembley and the manner in which we were defeated, and John McGinn noted that in his post-match social media post as he conceded that our win over Fulham doesn’t make up for the hurt felt after falling short in our bid to win silverware.
Villa had to respond positively with crunch game after crunch game remaining, and hopefully this win will help us to build momentum and propel us forward to improve and continue getting the necessary results.
Tielemans continues to show his class
There was only going to be one winner of the Player of the Match award, as Tielemans was a class above once again and capped it off with the winning goal.
The Belgian international’s influence in our midfield is huge, as he combines tenacity and a tireless work ethic out of possession with technical quality and creativity on the ball to be the heartbeat of this side.
His run and header for his goal were excellent, and as a pillar of this team having made 52 starts so far this season, it’s hoped that he’s got plenty left to lead our charge in the last three weeks of the campaign.
Konsa gets an earful from demanding Emery
Emery cut a furious figure in the second half just moments after Ezri Konsa had surrendered possession cheaply and was too busy protesting with the referee for a foul rather than focusing on winning the ball back.
The Villa boss launched into a passionate tirade from the touchline which was picked up by the broadcasting cameras, and he explained after the game that there was no issue with any player, it was more a case of being frustrated over what we worked on in preparation for the encounter wasn’t being displayed on the pitch.
Namely, it was about being fully focused and not relaxing for a single second in the game and giving the ball away too easily. Emery and the players know what’s at stake now and there is no more room for error, and so his demanding nature will hopefully be a key factor in getting over the line.
Watkins must be more clinical
Ollie Watkins had two big chances in the second half but failed to convert either, and that in turn set up an anxious 45 minutes after the break as Fulham grew into the contest and became a threat.
With 16 goals and 13 assists in 51 appearances so far this season, the 29-year-old has once again played a critical role in our pursuit of success, and he remains a vital presence up top when leading the line and displaying so many other strengths to his game.
However, if we continue to miss chances like those, we’ll eventually get punished. Watkins is now the main man up top with Marcus Rashford injured, and he has to show why he shouldn’t have been out of the team in recent weeks with more clinical and ruthless goalscoring form.
Three more finals to go
This was an important win over Fulham and it’s a start on the right path but it means nothing heading into our next fixture, as it’s another must-win clash with Bournemouth, who are also chasing us down in the Premier League standings.
It promises to be a difficult assignment at the Vitality Stadium with the Cherries enjoying a great season under a top coach in Andoni Iraola, and so we’ve got to find another gear against them to get the desired result as what we’ve seen in recent games may not be enough, despite having won this weekend.
There’s no point thinking about Tottenham or Manchester United at this stage, but having done our job this time round, it’s hoped results elsewhere start to go our way and we remain in the hunt for our remaining priority objective.
