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Match Report Fulham (1) 3-0 (0) Aston Villa Premier League Match Day 11 22_23 at Craven Cottage Thursday 20th October 2022,    KO: 19:30 Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

Fulham midfielder Harrison Reed

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Fulham's Harrison Reed, Aleksandar Mitrovic and a Tyrone Mings own goal saw Fulham romp to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa which saw Steven Gerrard sacked barely an hour after full-time.

Villa were booed off at half and full-time by their frustrated sell-out travelling support at Craven Cottage, with chants of "We want Gerrard out" audible from the away end for large periods of the second half on a wretched night for the 10-man Villans in the capital - and by 10pm, they had got their wish.

Gerrard's side were already three games without a win and were outplayed throughout their trip to west London, but still hung on until the 36th minute when Reed's wonderful 20-yard strike arrowed past Emiliano Martinez.

Villa's uphill task became harder still when Douglas Luiz saw red for a petulant off-the-ball headbutt on Mitrovic following a VAR review.

Minutes later Mitrovic would beat Martinez from 12 yards after Matty Cash was penalised for a handball, and by the time Mings turned Neeskens Kebano's cross past into his own goal with seven minutes left, a frustrating evening for the visiting fans had already turned toxic and left Gerrard out of a job after less than a year in charge at Villa Park.

Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic

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Aston Villa had promised improvement after a strong showing against Chelsea on Sunday, but they were a yard off Fulham from the first whistle and needed a Mings clearance off his own line to stop Mitrovic giving the hosts a deserved early lead.

The Cottagers continued to bully their visitors in open play and from set-pieces, and as half-time approached the only question was whether the scoreline would reflect their domination at the break.

Reed made amends for their profligate opening with time running out, taking Martinez's punch from a corner before smashing it back past him from just outside the box.

The goal did spring the visitors into some form of life, but only to twice force Leno into relatively routine saves. Gerrard had seen enough, and hooked Ezri Konsa for Cash at the break.

Fulham continued to press for the next goal, but the precarious nature of a one-goal lead always threatened them, until Luiz's moment of madness.

Match Stats	Fulham	Aston Villa
Goals	(1) 2	0 (0)
Scorers	Reed 36	-
	Mitrovic pen 68	-
	Mings og 83	-
Goal attempts	18	12
On target	8	6
Shooting Accuracy	44%	50%
Possession	60%	40%
Passes	482	311
Passes Success	86%	78%
Crosses	22	18
Crosses Success	27%	33%
Corners	9	7
Tackles	12	14
Tackles Success	58%	43%
Saves	6	5
Fouls	11	11
Offsides	0	3
Yellows	0	2
Reds	0	1
source: SkySports

A late challenge from Mings on Willian saw the defender rightly booked but away from the action, Luiz and Mitrovic squared up to one another and once the Brazilian leaned his head forward and made contact, VAR was always likely to intervene.

Things went from bad to worse four minutes later when Mitrovic's shot struck Cash's outstretched hand with an unintentional but blatant handball.

The big striker was fortunate to see his resulting penalty squirm under Martinez's body and in, but Villa's luck was firmly against them.

So too were their fanbase against their manager by this point, as the visiting supporters increasingly began to join in with Fulham's chants of "sacked in the morning", before adding their own chorus of songs to make their feelings known.

That run of poor fortune was nearly as bad as their performance and contrived to serve up a late third for the hosts, as Kebano skinned Cash down the wing before his low square ball deflected in off Mings.

Stony-faced Gerrard did not acknowledge the Villa fans who had remained until the bitter end, and he would not have liked what he heard from them had he done so as the pressure surrounding him ramped up to another, this time insurmountable, level on his final night in charge.

Fulham visit Leeds at Elland Road in the Premier League on Sunday; kick-off 2pm

Fulham: Leno, De Cordova-Reid, Diop, Ream, Robinson, Reed (Cairney 73), Palhinha, Willian (James 73), Pereira (Harris 87), Kebano (Wilson 85), Mitrovic (Vinicius 85).

Unused substitutes: Rodak, Adarabioyo, Duffy, Wilson, Mbabu, Vinicius.

Goals:
Reed 36 (A corner is punched clear by Martinez but only as far as Reed, who takes a touch on the edge of the box before firing a dipping right-footed drive past the Villa goalkeeper into the far corner. No more than Fulham deserve.)
Mitrovic pen 68 (It wasn't a convincing penalty from Mitrovic, but he won't care. Martinez goes the right way, but the ball goes under him and deflects in.)
Mings og 83 (Kebano does brilliantly to beat Cash down the Fulham left before firing a low driven ball across goal, which takes a wicked deflection off Mings giving Martinez no chance. It's turning into a hammering for Aston Villa. FPL assist: Kebano.)

Aston Villa: Martinez, Young, Konsa, Mings, Bednarek (Cash 45), Ramsey (Archer 81), Luiz, McGinn, Bailey (Buendia 58), Watkins, Ings (Dendoncker 69).

Unused substitutes: Olsen, Sanson, Chambers, Nakamba, Coutinho.

Booked: Bailey (57,f), Mings (60,fr)

Sent Off: Luiz (62,vc),

Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

Attendance: 23,508