The Time Is Now

Match Report Aston Villa (1) 1-0 (0) Fulham Premiership Match Day 32 2223 at Villa Park Tuesday 25th April 2023    KO: 19:45 Referee: Thomas Bramall (Sheffield) Live on BT Sport 2

Match Stats	Aston Villa	Fulham
Goals	(1)1	0 (0)
Scorers	Mings 21	-
,
Goal attempts	14	1
On target	3	0
Shooting Accuracy	21%	0%
Possession	52%	48%
Passes	435	399
Passes Success	84%	81%
Crosses	15	17
Crosses Success	47%	24%
Corners	8	2
Tackles	11	21
Tackles Success	73%	38%
Saves	0	2
Fouls	6	18
Offsides	0	5
Yellows	3	2
Reds	0	0
source: SkySports

Aston Villa moved up to fifth in the Premier League and leapfrogged Tottenham with a 1-0 win over Fulham at Villa Park on Tuesday night as they stretched their unbeaten run to 10 games.

Unai Emery's side are on a mission to qualify for Europe after 12 years away and they showed no sign of slowing down against Fulham with Tyrone Mings' first-half header clinching their eighth win in their last 10 games after an impressive first-half display.

Fulham head coach Marco Silva this week took exception to suggestions his side were "on the beach", but the Cottagers produced a poor display in Birmingham and failed to trouble Villa despite the hosts taking their foot off the gas after the break.

Villa now sit a point above managerless Spurs having played a game more than the north Londoners, who host fourth-placed Manchester United on Thursday night. Fulham, meanwhile, saw their two-game winning run come to an end but they remain a point above west London rivals Brentford in ninth.

Villa's last encounter with Fulham put an end to Steven Gerrard's time in charge of the club as a demoralising 3-0 defeat at Craven Cottage proved to be the final straw. But the outlook could not be more different at Villa Park now under Emery as the Villans march on in pursuit of European football for the first time since the 2010/11 season.

There was an early scare for Villa, though, as Andreas Pereira's acrobatic effort flashed just wide and into the side netting after two minutes. Villa quickly took charge of the game and came close themselves only for Ashley Young's goal-bound strike from the edge of the box to be deflected away by Harrison Reed.

Villa felt they should have been awarded a penalty after Tosin Adarabioyo's challenge on Ollie Watkins, although replays showed the Fulham defender did get a touch on the ball first. The Video Assistant Referee looked at the incident but stuck with the on-field decision from referee Thomas Bramall.

After seeing Willian removed from the starting line-up just before kick-off and replaced by Manor Solomon, Fulham were forced into another change as Harry Wilson came off feeling unwell in the 17th minute for Bobby Decordova-Reid.

Villa's pressure finally paid from a corner as John McGinn's delivery was flicked on at the near post by Mings for the centre-back's first goal of the season to give Villa a deserved lead after 20 minutes. Fulham looked out of ideas but managed to hold on to keep the score at 1-0 at the break.

Emery's side, to the dismay of their animated manager on the sideline, became complacent in the second half as they tried to slow the game down and nearly paid for it when Reed put the ball in the back of the net for Fulham with eight minutes left to play, but they were saved by a marginal offside.

Regardless of an underwhelming performance in the second half, Villa managed to hold on for their fifth consecutive clean sheet at home as they continue to strengthen their bid for European qualification.

Fulham host title-chasing Manchester City on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 2pm

Aston Villa: Martinez, Young (Chambers 85), Konsa, Mings, Moreno (Digne 77), Dendoncker, Luiz, McGinn, Buendia, Ramsey (Traore 77), Watkins

Unused substitutes: Carlos, Duran, Olsen, Sinisalo, Revan, O'Reilly

Goals:
Mings 20 (McGinn sends in a near-post cross that is met by Mings. He produces a lovely flicked header that loops into the far corner! A first goal of the season for the defender. No-one on the post for Fulham, which proved costly.)

Booked: Young (f,74), Martínez (tw,88), Traore (f,89)

Fulham: Leno, Tete (Soares 68), Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson, Reed (Kebano 83), Palhinha, Wilson (De Cordova-Reid 17), Pereira (Cairney 68), Solomon (Vinicius 67), James

Unused substitutes: Rodak, Duffy, Lukic, Diop

Booked: De Cordova-Reid (f,47), Palhinha (f,78)

Referee: Thomas Bramall (Sheffield)

Attendance: 41,048