Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham (12 Nov, 2023) Game Analysis

Aston Villa secured a 3-1 victory over Fulham thanks to an own goal from Antonee Robinson and strikes from John McGinn and Ollie Watkins in the Premier League on Sunday, equaling the club’s 40-year-old record of 13 league wins at home in a row.

Villa Park is a fortress under Unai Emery and his team, along with Liverpool and Manchester City, are the only teams to have won all of their Premier League home games this season, with Villa scoring at least three goals in every game at their stadium.

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Villa took the lead in the 27th minute when Youri Tielemans collected a ball on the left wing and fired it across goal, where Fulham defender Robinson turned it into his own net.

Villa captain McGinn scored the second goal three minutes before the break, collecting the ball outside the area and driving forward before hitting a low shot into the bottom corner.

Fulham were strong after the break and Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez got his finger on the ball to head a low shot from Raúl Jiménez towards the far post, and Willian almost pulled a goal back with a low shot that flew just wide .

Instead, Watkins added the third with a close range goal in the 64th minute as Villa opened up the visiting defense again.

Fulham striker Jimenez then scored his first league goal since March 2022 to reduce the deficit, but the away team came no closer, and Watkins should have made it 4-1, but somehow he headed a close-range header late on with the goal at his mercy.

The victory moves Villa into fifth place with 25 points, while the Cottagers are 16th with 12, although Emery is not getting carried away by his team’s position in the table or their home form.

We are in the top five and I think it’s a moment to take advantage and analyze deeply, even when we win, how we can improve,” he told reporters before paying tribute to McGinn.

“He (McGinn) is very demanding, he is competitive, he is always ready to play. Physically, his energy is always full, when he is not training, he is resting… he is a very good example for the other players and I really like him as a person.”