Aston Villa forward praised for his outstanding start to the season

Aston Villa finished the weekend sat in the top four of the Premier League after beating Fulham 3-1 at Craven Cottage. The win meant Unai Emery maintains his 100% record against the Cottagers as Aston Villa boss, claiming victory on all four occasions since he took over in October 2022.

Aston Villa's impressive start to the season continues

Fulham went into the game unbeaten at home so far this season. A positive start to the season saw them sitting just three points behind Villa and there was an air of confidence among the Fulham fans that they had a very good chance of winning this game. That positive feeling sky-rocketed when Raul Jimenez gave the home side the lead after just five minutes. The Villa defence was undone by a long ball from Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno, as Pau Torres was bumped off the ball with ease by the Mexican and he calmly slotted the ball into the corner past a helpless Emi Martinez.

Thankfully for Villa, they responded very quickly. Fulham's lead lasted just four minutes as Morgan Rogers' deflected strike from outside the box drew the away team level. After some usual positive build-up play from the back, Jacob Ramsey played the ball to Rogers who picked it up in space between the defensive and midfield lines, he rampaged towards goal before unleashing his shot. That shot found the corner via a flick off the body of Calvin Bassey.

Despite having control of the game and looking good in possession, Villa were on the cusp of going behind heading into the break after Fulham were awarded a penalty for a handball by Matty Cash. This was the seventh penalty Cash has conceded in the Premier League since his debut in September 2020, more than any other player in that time. Andreas Pereira stepped up to take it for the home side, but he lost the South American battle as Emi Martinez of Argentina easily saved the Brazilian's poor penalty. The half-time score was 1-1.

The second half was dominated by Aston Villa and they deservedly took the lead just before the hour mark. Youri Tielemans swung in a delightful cross from the corner and it was met by Ollie Watkins. The England international produced a magnificent header when going away from goal that whizzed past Leno's head before he had a chance to move. A wonderful goal that again provided evidence that Watkins has it all as a forward.

Fulham's woes then deepened a few moments later as Joachim Andersen was shown a red card. Morgan Rogers again picked the ball up in a pocket of space in midfield and threaded a beautiful through-ball to Watkins. His first touch took the ball across Andersen's path and the centre-half had no choice but to take him down as he went through on goal. As the last man, the referee had no choice but to show him the red card. This massively swung the game in Villa's favour and Issa Diop then put the ball in his own net from a Lucas Digne cross just five minutes later to seal Villa's victory on the road.

Jaden Philogene was given his marching orders with just seconds left after receiving two very dubious yellow cards. As a result, he will be suspended for next weekend's game against Bournemouth.

Under Unai Emery, this was Aston Villa's ninth Premier League win in the capital. Villa have lost just once in 13 games when playing in London since October 2022.

Villa stars praised for their performances

Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers were praised for their part in Villa's victory and their excellent starts to the season. Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Gary Lineker praised Watkins for his goalscoring ability and reaction to a slow start in the first few games of the season.

"They've got a REALLY good centre forward in Ollie Watkins who is scoring goals again after a slightly slow start"

- Gary Lineker

Watkins now has five goals from the opening eight Premier League games this season as he continues to hunt down Gabriel Agbonlahor's tally of 74 goals in the English top flight. The former Aston Villa striker is the club's all-time leading goal scorer in the Premier League, but Watkins now has 64 to his name and will be confident of breaking that record by the end of the season.

Another man praised on the podcast was Morgan Rogers. Alan Shearer was quick to heap praise on Rogers saying that he was, "brilliant in everything he did" against Fulham. The former Manchester City academy player scored his second goal of the season on Saturday to continue his fine start to the campaign. Whilst proving to be one of the country's best-attacking talents, Shearer also noted that Rogers needs to improve his finishing in front of goal. Rogers spurned a glorious chance to give Villa the lead in the first half, missing the target from six yards after having the ball laid on a plate to him by Jacob Ramsey. Ollie Watkins also praised his Villa teammate, saying he "has the world at his feet".

UTV