Fulham kept their European hopes alive thanks to a 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Craven Cottage.
Ryan Sessegnon scored the only goal of the game just before half-time, in what was a close encounter.
Although Fulham remain 10th, they are now just two points behind sixth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion with four games left to play.
How Fulham edged tight battle
Fulham’s first-half control
If you look at possession alone, you’ll think Aston Villa dominated the game. But they didn’t. They only really stepped things up in the second half, with Fulham defending their lead. Fulham had 52.9% possession in the first half, with that dropping to 39% overall.
Fulham had 29 final third entries in the first half, with eight touches in the opposition box and eight shots — five of which were on target. They also created two big chances. The Cottagers outfought Villa in every key metric. They passed more, completed more passes, put in more crosses, won more duels and made more tackles and interceptions. Fulham were ready for a fight, against a team they have struggled against in recent years.
It’s interesting that Sessegnon was the one to score the opener. He had been quiet in the opening stages. Midway through the first half, Sessegnon had had just three touches of the ball, despite 43% of Fulham’s attacks coming down his flank.
But that’s what Marco Silva has done. He has created a team filled with players ready, and capable, to make an impact in these moments. Not to mention the control allowing the moments to happen in the first place.
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The battle of the centre-forwards
Although neither scored, there was a good battle between Raul Jimenez and Ollie Watkins at Craven Cottage. On top of trying to be goal threats, the pair were key in linking up the attack for their teams. And Jimenez came out on top.
Jimenez had 24 touches of the ball during his 66 minutes on the pitch, which was the lowest of any Fulham starter before his substitution. He attempted 14 passes and completed eight, which doesn’t sound great. But Jimenez was the focal point, always looking to get his teammates involved.
The Mexican striker created two chances at Craven Cottage, the joint-most of any Fulham player during his time on the pitch. That’s compared to having just one shot himself. Jimenez contested a team-high 11 duels, winning six of those — including three of his six aerial battles. He also won three fouls, key to keeping Fulham in control.
Watkins lasted 81 minutes before coming off, but he couldn’t make as much of an impact as Jimenez did. Watkins did have three shots and three touches in the opposition box, but he only managed one effort on target — as many as Jimenez. The Englishman had 17 touches of the ball in total, completing seven of his eigth attempted passes, with one chance created.
The real difference came in the duels. Watkins only won one of his five attempted duels, and won one foul. When he was taken off and replaced by Tammy Abraham, it was more of Emery trying to make an influential sub. Whereas Jimenez’s substitution showed signs of simply bringing on fresher legs.
An (enforced) change too many
Unai Emery made four changes to the side that beat Sunderland last time out. Overall, he’s made 90 changes to his starting XI this season, the fourth-most of any team in the Premier League. Lucas Digne, Pau Torres, Lamare Bogarde and Emiliano Buendi all came in, ahead of Tyrone Mings, Ross Barkley, Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen.
The Onana change was an enforced one, with the Belgian suffering a late injury. He was replaced in the midfield by Bogarde, who just couldn’t bring the same amount of control and destroying ability.
Bogarde made just one tackle at Craven Cottage, and conceded two fouls, with no interceptions. He also won just one of his six duels, and only completed four final third passes. But he wasn’t alone.
Buendia came under fire from Villa fans for a poor showing, in which he failed to create a single chance despite being on the ball a lot. It was a poor display from the entire Villa team, on what was just an off day. But that will bring in questions of Villa’s quality in depth, and the ability to get over the line in the European race.