LONDON, February 18, — Aston Villa defeated Fulham 2-1 on the road on Saturday, holding off a late comeback led by Ollie Watkins to propel the team into the Premier League’s top four.
After halftime, the England striker, who was offside but had the ball in the net inside two minutes, added another goal to his league total of 13 goals this season
After 56 minutes, Watkins doubled Villa’s lead with a forceful finish after Youri Tielemans’ excellent through ball. Watkins had previously taken advantage of a weak throw-in to turn and shoot home.
“I believed we would score three or four goals,” Watkins stated to the BBC. “That was untrue. Fulham gave us a pretty good response and put pressure on us.
In the 64th minute, Rodrigo Muniz equalised, scoring his fourth goal in three games as a result of Clement Lenglet’s clumsiness, which allowed the forward to poke home from close range.
The goal enthralled the home crowd and set up an exciting finish to the game as Villa attempted to take advantage of the space left behind on the counterattack as Fulham pushed for an equaliser.
Replace In stoppage time, Adama Traore had the finest opportunity to steal a point, forcing Emiliano Martinez into a fantastic save.
Villa survived the pressure to earn a well-earned victory and go up to fourth place on 49 points, ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, who fell short against Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1. On 29, Fulham was still ranked 12th.
The way Villa’s players performed to take a two-goal lead and their tenacity in holding on for three points pleased boss Unai Emery.
