Aston Villa fought back from behind to secure a 3-1 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday as we move up to fourth place in the Premier League for the time being.
The hosts went ahead early on through Raul Jimenez, but Villa struck back just four minutes later as a deflected effort from Morgan Rogers drew us level.
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Emiliano Martinez emerged as the Villa hero after saving a penalty shortly after, and as the game went on, Villa began to control the contest more effectively and found a rhythm to start building consistent pressure.
Ollie Watkins headed home Youri Tielemans’ corner on the hour mark before an own goal sealed the victory, and so it was another excellent performance and result as Villa continue our fine start to the campaign and now switch focus to Bologna in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Fulham:
Emiliano Martinez, 8.5 – Left exposed for the goal and although it was a poor penalty, he produced a decisive impact on the game to set us up for our comeback. Excellent in commanding his area and with his distribution out to get us moving up the pitch.
Matty Cash, 7.5 – Put in a solid defensive shift for the most part as he helped us maintain a balance in our backline with Digne pushing forward on the opposite side. Harsh penalty against him given how close he was to the ball when he ‘handled’ it.
Diego Carlos, 8 – Another strong display from the Brazilian centre-half as he continues to impose himself effectively and keep things tight at the back. Perhaps should have been more alert on the goal to come across and help out, but that aside, positive shift.
Pau Torres, 7 – Will be disappointed with his defending for the goal as he was caught out and outmuscled by Jimenez who then duly put his effort away. Recovered well after that though as he didn’t let it impact his overall performance, and got back into his rhythm soon after.
Lucas Digne, 8 – Only criticism was that he didn’t find a decisive delivery after getting into great positions for most of the game. However, his positioning and awareness continues to stand out as he put in another excellent shift.
Amadou Onana, 8 – So effective at using his agility and athleticism to break the opposition’s play up with a timely intervention and get us going in attack instead. Added physicality and presence in midfield to help us gain a foothold.
Youri Tielemans, 8 – Continues to pull the strings and run the show in midfield for us. Perhaps not as influential as he has been at times already this season, but kept us ticking and broke the lines consistently to add fluidity and rhythm to our play, which in turn caused Fulham plenty of problems.
Leon Bailey, 6.5 – There’s certainly not a lack of effort from the Villa winger, but it’s just not happening for him at the moment. Looked sharp at times and was fired up in the first half, but really struggled after the break as he gave the ball away time and time again.
Morgan Rogers, 8 – Such a joy to watch when he finds space between the lines and drives at the opposition’s defence. Fortunate deflection for his goal, but he was crucial to how we broke Fulham down and gave them plenty to contend with in their own third.
Jacob Ramsey, 8 – Best performance of the season from him so far, as he looked sharp, dangerous and showed his quality both in his touches on the ball and his movement off it. If he can stay healthy and add consistency now, he’ll hope to become even more decisive.
Ollie Watkins, 8 – Brilliant header for his goal as he sent a bullet effort past Leno to put us ahead. Worked tirelessly up top to give us a focal point to build around, but he’ll be delighted to get on the scoresheet once again.
Substitutes:
Jaden Philogene, 6 – Really soft second yellow card and so he was unfortunate to get sent off. Worked hard to help us maintain our control on the game.
Ross Barkley, 6 – Slotted into midfield and showed good touch and awareness on when to break forward and help build our attacking play.
Jhon Duran, 6 – Bundle of energy in the latter stages as he tried to provide a threat when possible, but ultimately it was his job to help us see out the win.
John McGinn, N/A
Emiliano Buendia, N/A
