Aston Villa vs Fulham. Premier League.
Villa Park.
Free match highlights and report as three goals in nine second-half minutes from sub Trezeguet (2) and Ollie Watkins turn game on its head; Aleksandar Mitrovic had given Fulham the lead after Tyrone Mings error; Fulham now three points off Newcastle having played a game more
Monday 5 April 2021 07:00, UK
Aston Villa scored three late goals in nine minutes to fight back from a goal down to beat relegation-threatened Fulham 3-1 at Villa Park, denting the Cottagers' survival hopes.
In a first half lacking in chances, Villa had a penalty overturned in stoppage time as Mario Lemina looked to have clipped Ollie Watkins, but Andy Madley spotted a touch from the Fulham man after being advised by VAR to go to the pitchside monitor.
Tyrone Mings' fluffed backpass allowed Aleksandar Mitrovic to open the scoring for Fulham, rounding Emi Martinez before slotting into an empty net (61) for his first goal since September.
But Trezeguet, subbed on directly after Mitrovic's goal, turned the game on its head with two goals in three minutes, the first a cool finish from Mings' centre (78) before converting at the back post from fellow sub Keinan Davis' delivery (81).
Watkins rounded off the win with a close-range finish from Bertrand Traore's cross late on (87), giving Villa three points that had seemed so unlikely late in the second half.
The result means Fulham are three points behind 17th-place Newcastle, having played an extra game, while Villa are back into the top half, five points off the top seven.
Fulham knew a win could take them out of the drop zone on goal difference following Newcastle's draw with Spurs earlier on Super Sunday, with Mitrovic causing a nuisance early in the first half.
He stung the hands of Martinez with a low effort early on, before forcing the Argentine into another diving save with a curling shot from just inside the box, as Fulham started brightly.
But the rest of the first half resembled a battle of defences as delivery after delivery, mostly from set pieces, came to nothing from both sides, before drama in stoppage time.
Going down under the challenge of Lemina in the box, Watkins thought he had won Villa a penalty, awarded by Madley. But after VAR intervened, Madley went to the pitchside screen and spotted a slight touch by Lemina, overturning the original decision.
Villa didn't have a shot on target in the first half for the fourth home game in a row, and only had themselves to blame as they gifted Fulham an opener.
Looking for a simple backpass towards goalkeeper Martinez, Mings miskicked, allowing Mitrovic to take over, compose himself, before rounding Martinez and rolling into the empty net.
It was Mitrovic's first goal in 22 Premier League appearances, having gone 45 shots without scoring, and his sixth goal in 12 days for club and country, having gone 159 days without a goal.
But Fulham were out of the relegation zone for all of 17 minutes as sub Trezeguet transformed the game. Over eight hours without a Villa player scoring, the hosts netted three in nine minutes as Fulham completely capitulated.
First, Egyptian Trezeguet finished coolly from 12 yards after Mings' left-wing centre, slotting into the bottom left corner, the goal coming out of nowhere.
And Trezeguet got his second just three minutes later with another clinical finish at the back post from Davis' lofted cross after capitalising on Tosin's mistake.
Watkins followed up his debut goal for England with his 13th for Villa this season, and first in seven games, tapping home under a few yards out after fine work from Traore on the right of the box.
It was a game Villa had no right to get back into, with Scott Parker surely wondering how his side managed to throw away the lead and a dominant position. Villa, however, still have a faint chance of qualifying for Europe, but the sooner Jack Grealish returns, the better.
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith on Sky Sports: "They made the impact that you want from substitutions. The minimum you want is for them to run more than the player they've just replaced.
"I thought the performance of the whole game was a bit laboured from both teams. There are a lot of teams battling for performances at the moment, it's a long, hard season.
"All results are important, and they are hard to come by in the Premier League. They are big whenever you win, and this was a hard-fought win. It's the first time we've come from behind this season."
Fulham boss Scott Parker on Sky Sports: "It's a difficult one. It's a poor 15 minutes. The game ebbed and flowed until our goal, and I'm disappointed with the way it goes after that. They are easy goals, silly goals, and that has let us down. It's disappointing.
"At certain moments in certain games, you need to understand where the team are at, and we didn't manage that situation well. Sometimes you need a grit, to be horrible, play the game with territory. You get to eight games remaining, get our nose in front with 15 on the clock, we were sloppy in those moments. There needs to be something more in those moments.
"It's a young team, and we understand that, but it's naïve, silly mistakes. Where we are as a team, you need to eradicate them. There's a way to lose football matches, and I'm not pleased with how we lost today.
"[How do we pick them up?] Easy. It's easy. Today is a bump, how we react to these times is the most important thing, and we've proven throughout this season that we've re-grouped, worked even harder, and learn and grow. It won't be any different tomorrow morning."
Aston Villa now go to Liverpool at 3pm on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Premier League, while Fulham host Wolves on Friday at 8pm in the Premier League.
