Aston Villa suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to Fulham on Thursday night at Craven Cottage as more pressure was piled on Steven Gerrard.
Goals from Harrison Reed, Aleksandar Mitrovic and a Tyrone Mings own goal sealed a deserved three points for the hosts as they were the better side throughout.
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Villa were ultimately fortunate the scoreline wasn’t worse but for some good defending and saves from Emiliano Martinez, as this was undoubtedly one of the most abject and shocking performances of the season so far.
With that comes the question as to whether or not Gerrard will survive this loss, as with pressure already mounting on him and speculation intensifying about him being replaced at Villa, time will tell if this was indeed the last straw for the ownership or if he’ll get another chance against Brentford on Sunday.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Fulham:
Emiliano Martinez, 6 – Made some important saves, particularly in the first half, as he kept us in the game. Will be frustrated he didn’t keep Mitrovic’s penalty out having got down to it, but was otherwise let down and left exposed by his backline.
Ezri Konsa, 4 – Struggled in the first half at right-back as that decision backfired. Fulham made a point of targeting him down that flank and he constantly got stuck between tracking his man and drifting into the middle.
Jan Bednarek, 4 – Didn’t look comfortable on the ball and although he made some good blocks and interventions on crosses, there was a last-ditch element to his work as he was caught out of position.
Tyrone Mings, 4 – Was troubled by Fulham’s attacking play throughout and although he made a big goal-line stop to keep us in it in the first half, he turned the ball into the back of his net for Fulham’s third to seal the defeat.
Ashley Young, 5.5 – Put in a solid shift defensively and pushed forward whenever possible. On a night where so many of his teammates struggled, the wily veteran put in a decent performance.
John McGinn, 4 – Barring an attempt on goal and one or two bits of good play, he’s adding nothing to our game. Works hard, but the lack of quality in his passing and the absence of any real goal threat is a real problem.
Douglas Luiz, 4 – Red seemed harsh to an extent as Mitrovic initiated the contact and looked like a clash of heads with Luiz the shorter man. That killed any hope of us launching a comeback though and as is usually the case when he plays as a No.6, kept things tidy without ever really influencing the game or taking control and Fulham found holes around him to get at our defence.
Jacob Ramsey, 4 – Didn’t offer any penetration with his powerful runs from midfield. A bystander for most of the game as he couldn’t get on the ball and have any sort of positive influence on our attacking play.
Leon Bailey, 3 – Offered very little before being replaced early in the second half. Didn’t test the Fulham defence anywhere near enough with his pace and direct running, and the one attempt he did have found Row Z. A really poor effort after a positive outing at the weekend.
Danny Ings, 4 – Once again looked isolated as the lone frontman, as he didn’t have any service to feed off and when he did have chances, wasn’t clinical enough to put them away and provide a decisive contribution.
Ollie Watkins, 4 – Played on the left again but didn’t have the same impact. Was kept under wraps for the most part barring a couple of occasions where he threatened, but like the rest of our attack, didn’t provide anywhere near enough quality in the final third.
Substitutions:
Matty Cash, 4 – Struggled after coming on at half time as he gave away the penalty for the second and allowed Kebano too much time and space in the build-up to the third. Decision to leave him on the bench was understandable as he looks to avoid a setback after recently returning from injury, but couldn’t get up to the speed of the game.
Emiliano Buendia, 4 – Usually is capable of making a positive impact off the bench by adding urgency and quality to our attacking play, but wasn’t the case on this occasion.
Leander Dendoncker, 3 – Looks so off the pace it’s baffling as to how he’s getting minutes ahead of other midfield options.
Cameron Archer, N/A