Youri Tielemans’ first-half header was enough to earn Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Fulham to keep alive their hopes of Champions League football next season.
Tielemans, the outstanding player on the Villa Park pitch, rose highest of all to power in John McGinn’s 12th-minute corner as Unai Emery’s side moved level on points with both Nottingham Forest and Chelsea ahead of their weekend matches.
Ollie Watkins spurned a great chance to double Villa’s lead at the start of the second half and ease home nerves, which only increased minutes later when Ryan Sessegnon’s volley flashed past Emi Martinez.
However, the goal was rightly ruled out as Sessegnon had clearly controlled the ball with his hand before finding the back of the net.
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Watch Paul Merson’s reaction to Ollie Watkins’ missed opportunity to double Aston Villa’s lead against Fulham
Villa then managed the second half expertly, helped by the visitors having to play the final 10 minutes with only 10 players after Harrison Reed was forced off with a calf problem having only just come on and Marco Silva having already used all his substitutes.
Ryan Sessegnon shoots into the net only for his effort to be ruled out following a VAR review
And despite sub Donyell Malen thumping the crossbar in injury time, Villa held on to get back to winning ways after successive losses in the league and FA Cup semi-final had threatened to derail their campaign, while Fulham’s already-slim chances of European football next season are now hanging by a thread.
What the managers said…
Villa boss Unai Emery:
“If we weren’t winning today, forget it completely. Today, we got more or less close to Europe. Wow, fantastic, brilliant. The best gift we can achieve after it is the Europa League or Champions League.
“Champions League, okay, we are going to try to get it, but we are not contenders. We are not favourites to get it because there is Nottingham Forest in front of us, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle.
“But we will fight for it – Europe, and hopefully we can fight for the Champions League.”
Ollie Watkins is challenged by Kenny Tete
Fulham boss Marco Silva:
“Finals, finals, finals, finals. This afternoon was very important for both teams, they needed the three points and our aim was clear, to try to reduce Villa the points between both sides and it was not possible.
“They won the game. Now we have to look for the next three games, and the most important is the next one against Everton.
“When you lose a game, so important for us, at the end, with the goal from a set-piece, it is always very difficult for us to take it.
“We lost the game, it’s a sad moment for us. But now in eight days, we have another game to play, very important for us to get the three points.”
Tielemans key to Villa’s Champions League hopes
Analysis by Sky Sports’ Richard Morgan:
“Not for the first time this season, Youri Tielemans was Aston Villa’s driving force behind the crucial win over Fulham that keeps alive their chances of finishing the season in one of those coveted top-five Premier League berths that would mean back-to-back Champions League qualifications for Unai Emery’s team.
Youri Tielemans celebrates after giving Aston Villa a first-half lead against Fulham
“In a game of fine margins, it was the Belgian midfielder who settled the contest early on with a powerful near-post header, meaning he now has an impressive 10 Premier League goal involvements this season, including three goals and seven assists.
“One more between now and the end of the campaign would make it Tielemans’s best ever in the top flight and when combined with the 27-year-old’s metronomic passing and ability to control games from his station in the centre of midfield, you can see why he is now one of Villa’s most important players and integral to them playing in Europe’s premier club competition next season.”
