Aston Villa got back to winning ways and made it 13 straight home Premier League victories with a 3-1 success over Fulham.
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How the match unfolded
Villa were awarded a penalty on eight minutes for a handball by Timothy Castagne, but referee Simon Hooper was sent to the Referee Review Area by the VAR as the ball was seen to hit the Fulham defender's face, and not his arm, with the decision subsequently overturned.
Villa took the lead on 27 minutes, with Youri Tielemans' left-wing cross aimed towards Moussa Diaby inadvertently turned into his own net by Antonee Robinson.
The home side doubled their advantage three minutes before half-time through captain John McGinn, who whipped a superb shot into the bottom-left corner from 20 yards.
Fulham responded in the second half, with Raul Jimenez's low strike tipped on to a post at full-stretch by Emiliano Martinez and Willian dragging a shot narrowly wide.
But it was Villa who struck next on 64 minutes, Ollie Watkins sweeping in from Leon Bailey's cross for his sixth league goal of the season.
The Cottagers did pull a goal back on 70 minutes through Jimenez, who tapped in from Robinson's square pass for his first Fulham goal.
Watkins missed a glorious chance to score his second, heading wide from point-blank range, but it didn't prove costly as Villa made their longest top-flight winning run at Villa Park since October 1983, and made it six victories in a row against London sides for the first time in their league history.
Villa move up to fifth on 25 points, two adrift of leaders Manchester City ahead of their trip to Chelsea.
A third defeat in four matches leaves Fulham in 16th, six points above the bottom three.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Manchester City
MCI
|
37 | +60 | 88 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
37 | +61 | 86 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
37 | +43 | 79 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
37 | +20 | 68 |
| 5 |
Tottenham Hotspur
TOT
|
37 | +10 | 63 |
Did you know?
Aston Villa have won each of their last 13 home matches in the league, which is their longest such run in the top flight since October 1983. Furthermore, the Villans have won 14 home matches in the Premier League in 2023, as many as in the previous two calendar years combined.
Fulham have gone six Premier League away matches (D3 L3) without a win across the same campaign for the first time since April 2019. Meanwhile, the Cottagers have lost each of their last five away league matches to Aston Villa.
Ollie Watkins has been directly involved in 26 Premier League goals across 2023 (18 goals, eight assists), with only Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah boasting more involvements across this calendar year.
Antonee Robinson is the only player to have scored multiple own goals in the Premier League this season (two), and the first Fulham player to do so in a single campaign in the top flight since Chris Baird in 2011/12.
Raul Jimenez scored his first Premier League goal in this match since March 2022 v Watford, ending a run of 33 matches without a goal in the competition. In fact, the striker had gone 45 shots without scoring in the Premier League prior to this strike.
John McGinn has been involved in eight goals across 19 appearances in all competitions this season (five goals, three assists), his joint-most in a single campaign for Aston Villa since their promotion to the Premier League in 2019.
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