Two smart Ollie Watkins goals in either half were enough to see off a tricky away fixture at Craven Cottage. It’s a big, big result that lifts Villa back into the top four and firmly in the hunt for Champions League football with Spurs losing to Wolves.
Embed from Getty ImagesVilla didn’t have it all their own way, and arguably rode their luck a little, but it was also a case of yet more questionable officiating on the day.
Villa’s opener came courtesy of pressing our opponents, dispossessing them in the final third, before a match sharp Jacob Ramsey fed Watkins who made no mistake from inside the box. 1-0.
Watkins’ second was certainly more emphatic, firing an effort through the Fulham ‘keeper to make Villa comfortable at 2-0 (albeit briefly). Fulham responded immediately by getting one back through Muniz but they wouldn’t muster much more.
The more contentious talking points, however, were sadly once more centred around VAR and the officials.
At 1-0, Moreno rightly thought he was also on the scoresheet, only for a bizarre VAR intervention to deny the Spaniard a goal. Shades of the infamous ‘Wesley ankle’ here…
Watkins was also denied what appeared live (let alone with the benefit of a review) a clear penalty late into the game. It’s difficult to comprehend what the on-field officials couldn’t see here.
Today, these poor decisions don’t affect us, but on another, who knows? It’s the difference in our season of achieving the Champions League and not, perhaps.
Indeed, Villa should have been out of sight and had to rely upon the World Cup winning leg of Emi Martinez to deny former Villa player Adama Traore from salvaging a point at the death.
Back-to-back wins on the road restore a sense of purpose, and with Torres making more touches and completing more passes than any other player on his return, it’s a step back in the right direction. UTFV.