How Aston Villa broke their Premier League scoring duck against Fulham

Published September 30, 2025 at 10:01 am

Written by J Johnson

Exploiting Fulham’s weaknesses

Fulham may have taken an early lead against Villa on Sunday and looked dangerous going forward throughout the contest, but they were very leaky at the back.

Calvin Bassey, in particular, had a poor game. Marco Silva likes his teams to play out from the back, but Bassey’s lack of technical ability was a death sentence against Villa’s high press – he nearly cost them a goal in the first half because of this.

Joachim Andersen is also deserving of criticism, as he missed a defensive header which allowed Watkins to lob Bernd Leno for Villa’s first goal of the game.

Additionally, Fulham’s fullbacks struggled against Rogers and Evann Guessand. Timothy Castagne and Ryan Sessegnon are not known for their defensive acumen – it is not surprising that they each had a difficult game.

It’s worth noting that the Villans were a tad fortunate to not have conceded more – Fulham were denied a couple of credible penalty shouts in the first half.

Had either of these been given, Fulham would have had a golden opportunity to make it 0-2. Furthermore, Ezri Konsa also made a last-ditch block on the line later in the game to deny Fulham a second goal.

Can Aston Villa qualify for European football next season?

The Villans have certainly given themselves a lofty handicap after their turgid start to the Premier League season, but if they can use this result as a launching pad, there is no reason as to why they cannot finish in the top seven this season.

Plenty of the other teams jostling for a position at the top end of the table have also underperformed. Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest have all been delivering subpar results and currently find themselves in unfavourable places.

Furthermore, while Villa have been misfiring, their defence has remained relatively tight. With just six goals conceded in six games, they have let in fewer goals than Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United so far this season.