Ollie Watkins Leads Villa Past Fulham in 3-1 Triumph

Ollie Watkins netted his fifth Premier League goal of the season leading Aston Villa to a 3-1 victory over Fulham and marking their best start after eight matches since the 1998-99 season. Fulham initially took the lead when Raul Jimenez capitalized on a long ball from Bernd Leno, outmuscling Pau Torres before firing a low shot into the corner of the net.

However, Villa equalized just four minutes later when Morgan Rogers fired a 20-yard effort that deflected off Calvin Bassey and wrong-footed Leno. Referee awarded Fulham a penalty shortly before the half-hour mark after Matty Cash blocked a Jimenez header but Andreas Pereira’s weak shot fell into the hands of Villa’s Emiliano Martinez. The game turned in Villa’s favor in the 60th minute.

Ollie Watkins headed in a corner from Youri Tielemans after evading Emile Smith Rowe. Fulham’s situation worsened when Joachim Andersen received a red card for dragging down Watkins. Shortly after, Issa Diop inadvertently scored an own goal turning a low cross from Lucas Digne into his net. Villa’s only blemish came when substitute Jaden Philogene received a second yellow card for a foul in injury time.

With this victory, Villa climbed to fourth in the Premier League while Fulham remained in ninth. Despite Jimenez’s impressive form, scoring ten goals in his last twelve league starts, the penalty miss proved costly for Fulham. Jimenez had previously taken a penalty from Pereira earlier in the season and after this match, manager Marco Silva may reconsider who takes penalties moving forward.

Villa remains unbeaten in their opening four away matches for the first time since 2006-07, signaling their growing strength as they aim for a successful season.