Villa come from behind to claim first win of the season

Two goals in two second-half minutes from John McGinn and Emiliano Buendia propelled Aston Villa to their first Premier League win of the season as they beat Fulham 3-1 at Villa Park.

Villa were one of just two sides yet to pick up three points in 2025/26 heading into Sunday’s match, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, and they found themselves behind to Raul Jimenez’s third-minute header.

But Ollie Watkins’ first Premier League goal of the campaign restored parity eight minutes before half-time.

Watch Watkins' goal v Fulham

Unai Emery’s side took control after the interval, with the introduction of Buendia proving pivotal.

The Argentinian set up McGinn's terrific low strike to put Villa ahead before getting himself on the scoresheet soon afterwards.

Villa’s triumph sees them move out of the bottom three and up to 16th in the table with six points from their first six matches. Fulham, meanwhile, slip to 10th.

How the match unfolded

Fulham made a lightning start, with Jimenez getting across three defenders before brilliantly glancing Sasa Lukic’s set-piece delivery into the far corner in the third minute.

Josh King then saw an effort repelled by Emiliano Martinez as Fulham continued to boss proceedings, but they were made to pay for their wastefulness before the break.

A long ball forward from Lucas Digne managed to evade the head of Joachim Andersen, with Watkins allowed to steal in behind before lofting the ball over the on-rushing Bernd Leno.

Villa built on their momentum heading into the second half, with McGinn’s fierce drive in the 49th minute finding the bottom corner after he was picked out in space by Buendia’s pass.

Watch McGinn's goal v Fulham

Buendia then got in on the act just two minutes later, finishing past Leno from close range after good work from Watkins and Morgan Rogers down the left, with Villa seeing out the victory from there.

Villa give Emery perfect response

Emery got a response after labelling his team “lazy” following their 1-1 draw with Sunderland last time out in the Premier League, with McGinn’s solitary strike ensuring a winning start to Villa’s UEFA Europa League campaign against Bologna.

Villa head coach Emery opted to bring the out-of-form Watkins and Harvey Elliott into his starting line-up to try and spark his attack into life on Sunday, though the hosts lacked conviction in the first half as Fulham found themselves on top.

Their cause was not helped by the enforced substitution of Tyrone Mings just after the half-hour mark with an injury.

Despite the disruption, Watkins hauled them level with a fine finish over Leno, ending a run of 700 minutes without a goal in the Premier League.

Emery chose to be proactive at half-time and introduced Buendia for Elliott, with the substitute making an instant impact off the bench, setting up McGinn’s magnificent finish before getting himself on the scoresheet just 104 seconds later.

Villa were unable to generate any clear-cut chances from then on, though they had to call upon Ezri Konsa to clear Lukic’s strike off the line after a mistake by Martinez, but they were able to keep Fulham at arm’s length to clinch a morale-boosting victory.

Emery's men take on Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday, before welcoming Burnley to Villa Park three days later ahead of the October international break.

Fulham’s profligacy punished after Jimenez injury

Fulham came into this match with confidence, having gone unbeaten in their last three matches across all competitions, but their attack was caught misfiring after Jimenez was taken off injured.

Jimenez marked just his second Premier League start of the season with a trademark header early on, though the Mexican’s say on proceedings was ended eight minutes after his goal, with Adama Traore coming on in his place.

A minute after Jimenez was withdrawn, Fulham came close to doubling their advantage, with King’s direct run down the left seeing Matty Cash struggle to contain him, though King saw his tame effort saved by Martinez.

King was a positive outlet for Marco Silva’s side, seeing another shot blocked by Cash in the 23rd minute, which saw handball appeals waved away, just moments after the teenager was booked for simulation after going down under a challenge from Martinez.

After the break, Silva’s side struggled to create anything in the final third, with Lukic’s blocked attempt on the line representing their best opportunity to tee up a grandstand finish, despite the introductions of Samuel Chukwueze, Kevin and Emile Smith Rowe.

Fulham will aim to bounce back away to AFC Bournemouth next Friday, before welcoming Arsenal to Craven Cottage after the international break.

Club reports

Villa report | Fulham report

What the managers said

Unai Emery: "To win is the consequence of how you are building the team, how you are individually and tactically as well, being consistent and being demanding.

"We are getting better. We started [the season] so, so poor but then after the break we drew with Everton, Sunderland and Brentford. We were more or less getting balanced but not enough, performing better but not enough."

Marco Silva: "This is a disappointing result for us and the things we can control we have to do them ourselves. The game was going in the direction we predicted and wanted and we had some very good chances before they equalised. Other good moments from us and then after we concede a goal we shouldn't, you can't conceded a goal like this."

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Key facts

Ollie Watkins netted his first goal across all competitions for Aston Villa since scoring against Bournemouth in the Premier League in May 2025, ending a run of nine consecutive matches without one during which he had 14 shots.

Fulham’s Josh King is the first player to be cautioned for simulation in back-to-back Premier League appearances since Dan James for Manchester United in August 2019.

Aston Villa picked up their first win of the season in the Premier League in what was their sixth match in the competition this season, the latest they’ve ever won their first match of a Premier League campaign.