Aston Villa maintained their push for a top-five Premier League finish with a narrow 1-0 victory over Fulham at Villa Park, extending their unbeaten home run in the league to 17 matches.
After recent disappointments in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and FA Cup semi-finals, Villa needed a strong response.
A late loss to Manchester City in their previous league outing left little room for error in their bid for European qualification.
Fulham, also eyeing continental competition, came out with urgency in a fast-paced first half. However, Villa made the breakthrough just before the 15-minute mark when Youri Tielemans headed home from John McGinn’s corner, despite Bernd Leno getting a hand to the effort.
Tielemans nearly added a second before halftime, while Emiliano Martínez was largely untroubled, dealing comfortably with Alex Iwobi’s strike. Fulham had a goal ruled out after the break when Ryan Sessegnon’s finish was disallowed for handball in the build-up.
Harry Wilson emerged as Fulham’s key threat in the second half, but twice failed to beat Martínez—once with a free header and another with a close-range effort. Villa also came close to doubling their lead late on when substitute Donyell Malen struck the crossbar.
Despite Fulham’s late pressure, Villa held firm to claim all three points. The win puts them level with fifth-placed Chelsea, though having played one more game.
Fulham’s hopes of European qualification took a hit, and they now risk sliding into the bottom half of the table depending on other results.
