Harrison Reed and Aleksandar Mitrovic scored on either side of a Douglas Luiz red card as Fulham heaped misery on Aston Villa 3-0 at Craven Cottage on Thursday.
Fulham forced an own goal from Villa in the 83rd minute, moving up to ninth in the table with 15 points. The Cottagers improved their goal differential to minus-1 with the win.
WATCH FULHAM vs ASTON VILLA FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM
Luiz’s header on the stormy Mitrovic was caught by VAR in the 62nd minute, and Mitrovic doubled the Cottagers’ lead six minutes later.
Villa weren’t too bad early on and eventually forced six saves from Bernd Leno, but Steven Gerrard’s side again couldn’t find the scoreboard. Villa has a goal in his last 360 Premier League minutes.
The Villans’ nine points are well outside the bottom three for goals scored at the moment, and Gerrard’s life as manager couldn’t be more precarious.
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What we learned from Fulham vs Aston Villa
Gerrard let down by Luiz, but the 10-man Villans fight: Steven Gerrard has been under a lot of pressure at Villa Park and has been quick to point to injuries like the long-term ones suffered by Diego Carlos and Lucas Digne. So it was significant that his able-bodied players walked out the doors on Thursday, showing his support for the coach’s mandate (or at least his pride). Villa made 13 of 21 shots in the first half, putting seven on target. And Villa had 66 per cent of the ball in the second half, which was largely downplayed by one man.
Silva’s Cottagers look solid: Whether it’s surpassing early-season performances or delivering points with superior displays, Fulham look much better than they did at almost any point in their last Premier League season. Aleksandar Mitrovic’s converted penalty, in addition to the red card he drew, showed that his chaos and magic are still at their peak ahead of Serbia’s World Cup run, as several of Fulham’s players appear poised to a bigger stage.
tactical approach
This one is simple, and it’s not really about tactics. If you know there is a chaos maker like Mitrovic, don’t stick your head in it. Red cards don’t help at all.
stars of the show
Bernd Leno
John McGinn
Andreas Pereira
Alexander Mitrović
Steven Gerrard reaction: Away fans boo ‘hard’
“I am a fighter, I will never leave anything” 🗣
It’s been a tough start to the season for Villa, but Steven Gerrard has said he’s ready for a fight.#PLonPrime #FULAVL pic.twitter.com/h1Und2tY8a
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) October 20, 2022
Whats Next?
Villa host Brentford at 9am ET on Sunday, the same day and time that Fulham kick off in Leeds.
Video of Harrison Reed’s goal
Video of the red card of Douglas Luiz
How to watch Fulham vs Aston Villa live, stream link and start time
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. ET, Thursday
TV Channel: USA Network
Online: Broadcast via NBCSports.com
Key stories and star players
Fulham have managed seven goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and eight from everyone else on the list. Wide serving has been a specialty for the Cottagers, with Neeskens Kebano, Kevin Mbabu, Kenny Tete and Antonee Robinson feeding the big Serbian forward.
Villa won the expected scoring battle in four successive matches, including a loss to Chelsea last time out, but that only gave Gerrard’s men five out of nine points. Emiliano Buendia is averaging 2.05 key passes per game, but is yet to record an assist for the Villains.
Fulham team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Nathaniel Chalobah (suspension), Layvin Kurzawa (calf), Manor Solomon (knee), Kenny Tete (other).
William enters. ➡️#FULAVL pic.twitter.com/lWwb3bXBsD
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) October 20, 2022
Aston Villa team news, injuries, line-up options
OUT: Diego Carlos (ankle), Ludwig Augustinsson (thigh), Lucas Digne (heel), Boubacar Kamara (knee)
Introducing your Aston Villa team to take on Fulham tonight. 👊 #FULAVL pic.twitter.com/pmbEXh9ZLI
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 20, 2022
