Aston Villa 1-0 Fulham: Tielemans first half header keeps Villa in hunt for a top five finish

FromTheSpot

·4 May 2025

Aston Villa 1-0 Fulham: Tielemans first half header keeps Villa in hunt for a top five finish

Youri Tielemans scored the only goal of the game as Aston Villa edged past Marco Silva’s Fulham at Villa Park, boosting their hopes for Champions League football next season.

With Villa needing wins from all of their remaining fixtures to stand a chance of qualifying for Europe’s premier competition, Unai Emery will be pleased to see his side keep the pressure on those in and around the top five hopefuls.

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The only goal of the game came in the 12th minute as Tielemans met John McGinn’s corner and powered his header past Bernd Leno.

As it happened

With both sides fighting for European spots, there was a belief the pair would be adventurous and provide entertainment for the neutrals. However, the first half lacked any real quality and chances came at a premium.

A short corner routine was nicely worked between Marco Asensio and Tielemans, with the Spaniard dinking the ball into the area towards Ollie Watkins, but his header flews well wide of the target.

While there was a notable absence of quality early on, the hosts did take the lead in the 12th minute as Tielemans powered McGinn’s corner past Bernd Leno to give The Villans the lead.

On a couple of occasions, The Cottagers did break in behind down the right flank through the pacey Ryan Sessegnon, but Silva’s side lacked any final third quality to trouble Emiliano Martínez.

Likewise, the hosts struggled going forwards. Neither goalkeeper made a save until the 45th minute, when Tielemans hit a shot from distance which required a fingertip from Leno, although referee Rob Jones awarded a goal kick. Then, Alex Iwobi forced Martínez into action, but the Argentine easily claimed a curled effort before the first half was brought to a close.

After that lacklustre first half, both sides needed to change tact. Whatever was said by the managers had an immediate effect for the second period as chances came thick and fast.

Villa should have doubled their advantage within 30 seconds of the restart, as Matty Cash’s cross was completely missed by Watkins with the goal at his mercy. Moments later, Sessegnon thought he had equalised for the visitors, but as he tried to take the ball down it struck his arm before he found the back of the net and the goal was disallowed.

Another Fulham chance came as Silva’s side broke forward superbly. Raúl Jiménez did exceptionally well to win possession back, before feeding Iwobi down the right channel. The Nigerian delivered a quality whipped ball in behind the Villa defence for the advancing Harry Wilson, who couldn’t quite lift the ball over Martínez.

A super pass from Morgan Rogers then sent Watkins through on goal, but Leno stood firm to deny the striker from becoming the club’s highest Premier League goal-scorer.

Calvin Bassey later drove to the byline before clipping back across the area for Wilson, but the Welshman couldn’t generate the power on his header to test Martínez, as both sides pushed for goals in the second period.

There were screams around Villa Park as the Villa faithful demanded Bassey be sent off for a second yellow card, but Jones let the Fulham centre back off with a final warning.

Substitute Donyell Malen overhit an attempted cross, but Rogers kept it alive as he played a one-two to get into a prime crossing position. Malen ran back across goal but, under pressure from Leno, he turned the effort wide.

Unfortunately for the visitors, their substitute Harrison Reed picked up an injury shortly after entering the pitch and had to come off, leaving Silva’s side down to 10 men having already made all their substitutions.

With the visitors down a man, Villa started to control the game and halt the Fulham frontline with time ebbing away. Malen was inches away from sealing all three points as he cannoned a late effort off the woodwork before the final whistle, but it mattered not: Aston Villa had won the day anyway.

The result sees Villa move level on points with fifth and sixth placed Chelsea and Nottingham Forest on 60 points, while The Cottagers remain on 51 points in eighth. Up next for Emery’s side is a trip to the Vitality Stadium as they take on Bournemouth, while Fulham host David Moyes’ Everton at Craven Cottage.