Aston Villa vs Fulham. Premier League.
Villa ParkAttendance41,046.
Report and free match highlights as Aston Villa put themselves in a strong position in the race for Europe ahead of Sunday's trip to Man Utd; Tyrone Mings' first-half header enough to clinch the victory; Villa now fifth having played a game more than Tottenham
Wednesday 26 April 2023 07:11, UK
Aston Villa moved up to fifth in the Premier League and leapfrogged Tottenham with a 1-0 win over Fulham at Villa Park on Tuesday night as they stretched their unbeaten run to 10 games.
Unai Emery's side are on a mission to qualify for Europe after 12 years away and they showed no sign of slowing down against Fulham with Tyrone Mings' first-half header (21) clinching their eighth win in their last 10 games after an impressive first-half display.
Fulham head coach Marco Silva this week took exception to suggestions his side were "on the beach", but the Cottagers produced a poor display in Birmingham and failed to trouble Villa despite the hosts taking their foot off the gas after the break.
Villa now sit a point above managerless Spurs having played a game more than the north Londoners, who host fourth-placed Manchester United on Thursday night. Fulham, meanwhile, saw their two-game winning run come to an end but they remain a point above west London rivals Brentford in ninth.
Villa's last encounter with Fulham put an end to Steven Gerrard's time in charge of the club as a demoralising 3-0 defeat at Craven Cottage proved to be the final straw. But the outlook could not be more different at Villa Park now under Emery as the Villans march on in pursuit of European football for the first time since the 2010/11 season.
There was an early scare for Villa, though, as Andreas Pereira's acrobatic effort flashed just wide and into the side netting after 19 seconds. Villa quickly took charge of the game and came close themselves only for Ashley Young's goal-bound strike from the edge of the box to be deflected away by Harrison Reed.
Villa felt they should have been awarded a penalty after Tosin Adarabioyo's challenge on Ollie Watkins, although replays showed the Fulham defender did get a touch on the ball first. The Video Assistant Referee looked at the incident but stuck with the on-field decision from referee Thomas Bramall.
After seeing Willian removed from the starting line-up just before kick-off and replaced by Manor Solomon, Fulham were forced into another change as Harry Wilson came off feeling unwell in the 17th minute for Bobby Decordova-Reid.
Villa's pressure finally paid from a corner as John McGinn's delivery was flicked on at the near post by Mings for the centre-back's first goal of the season to give Villa a deserved lead after 21 minutes. Fulham looked out of ideas but managed to hold on to keep the score at 1-0 at the break.
Emery's side, to the dismay of their animated manager on the sideline, became complacent in the second half as they tried to slow the game down and nearly paid for it when Mings put Reed's cross into his own net with eight minutes left to play, but they were saved by a marginal offside.
Regardless of an underwhelming performance in the second half, Villa managed to hold on for their fifth consecutive clean sheet at home as they continue to strengthen their bid for European qualification. Emery's side have now picked up 26 points from an available 30 in their last 10 league games.
Unai Emery says it was vital for Villa to win on Tuesday night but admits it will be a tall order for his side to secure European qualification.
"Yes, of course I am very happy because we lost two matches against Arsenal and Leicester and now after five matches we have won all our games at home and trying to be consistent each match by keeping clean sheets, controlling the game and being strong here with our supporters," he told BT Sport.
"We are doing it and in terms of the table it was very important to make our European position clearer at this moment, but it will still be very difficult to get at the end of the season.
"The first half we controlled the game with good positioning and trying to stop their transition and we had two or three chances to score. In the second half, they started to do a bit more pressing and I think we were a bit tired and defended a bit more, but we defended really well."
Captain John McGinn says he wants to repay supporters with a return to Europe after years of suffering at Villa Park.
He told BT Sport: "Fulham are a really good team, they've had a great season, they've got a good manager, so this is a big three points for us.
"This stadium has seen a lot of poor results over the past few years that we've been involved in, so just now we are enjoying it. But we don't want to stop here, we want to make this a special season and bring European football back here.
"We've got five games left and we need to make sure that we treat everyone like we did tonight."
Tyrone Mings added: "It didn't look like we were going to score any other way and sometimes games are decided on set-pieces. The manager's been telling me that he's going to drop me if I don't score, so I'm just happy that I got one tonight.
"We will look and see where we are. We have been doing that all season, when we were at the bottom as well. It is nice to look at it now when we are a bit higher."
Fulham head coach Silva felt his side's slow start to the game let them down at Villa Park on Tuesday.
"When we have a plan to start and after the warm-up Willian felt something in his hamstring and the situation with Harry Wilson [coming off] was not the best start for us," he told BT Sport. "But these can't be excuses.
"Our first half was not at the level that we should have played. Clearly, we were not aggressive on the ball and we conceded a completely sloppy goal to give them the scenario they wanted.
"Second half we pressed a bit differently and more aggressive but it was not our night in terms of creating chances. Our front line players were not having their best night.
"We lost the game because the first half wasn't good enough."
Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:
Unai Emery is building something special at Aston Villa and the work he has done with this defence is remarkable.
They've conceded just three goals in their last 10 matches, with Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa reformed characters from the Steven Gerrard days when clean sheets were hard to come by.
At the heart of this defensive masterclass is their ability to catch players offsides. They trap like no other team. Mings and Konsa are so in sync. Even when the clock was ticking into stoppage time against Fulham, normally a team would be defending deep in their box - not Villa.
They were pushing up near the halfway line and caught a Fulham player offside for the fifth time in the game. It's now 40 offsides against in their last 10 games - the highest of any team in the Premier League.
Aston Villa's quest for European football continues at Manchester United on Sunday at 2pm.
Fulham host title-chasing Manchester City on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 2pm.
April 30: Man Utd (A) - Premier League, kick-off 2pm
May 6: Wolves (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 13: Tottenham (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 20: Liverpool (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 28: Brighton (H) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
April 30: Man City (H) - Premier League, kick-off 2pm, live on Sky Sports
May 3: Liverpool (A) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm
May 8: Leicester (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 13: Southampton (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 20: Crystal Palace (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 28: Man Utd (A) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
