Monday Fulham Stuff - 13/11/23...

[WhiteJC]

Results

Sunday 12/11
Villa	3-1	Fulham
		Raúl
Brighton	1-1	Sheff Utd
Liverpool	3-0	Brentford
West Ham	3-2	Forest
Chelsea	4-4	Man City

[WhiteJC]

Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham

Ollie Watkins scored his 11th goal in all competitions for Villa

Aston Villa maintained their winning start to the season at home with a routine Premier League victory over a lacklustre Fulham side.

Antonee Robinson's own goal and John McGinn's placed finish into the bottom right corner put Unai Emery's side firmly in control at the break.

And Ollie Watkins' tapped in substitute Leon Bailey's cross, with McGinn again involved, just after the hour mark as Villa claimed a 13th consecutive win at home in the top flight for the first time since 1983.

"He [John McGinn] is always playing positively and trying to help the team," said Villa's Spanish boss.

"We're demanding of him. The fans love him a lot. It's fantastic because he's responding on the pitch and connecting with them and always playing with the gameplan we have. He's adding goals. He's a very good example for everyone."

The result also means Villa have opened a season in England's top division with six successive home wins for the first time since 1932-33.

Raul Jimenez hit the post before rolling in from Robinson's pass to give Fulham a consolation goal in a much improved second-half display.

However, the visitors rarely looked capable of clawing their way back into the contest despite a noticeable drop in intensity from the hosts after the interval.

"Some details I don't like to call unlucky," said Fulham boss Marco Silva.

"Another own goal and even the second goal, two players fight for the ball. They're not normal things. We gave the ball away so easy for the third goal. We need to be more relaxed and calm. We have to express ourselves on the ball."

Villa remain fifth with the Cottagers in 16th, six points clear of the bottom three.

Villa go through the gears
While Villa's form has been erratic away from home, they have at times looked irresistible on their own patch.

And while they did not need be at their best on a wet Birmingham afternoon, when they did go through the gears it proved too much for an underwhelming Fulham side to contend with.

Emery's side, who have scored 23 goals in their six games at Villa Park, were always in control.

Fulham had already survived a Villa penalty claim, that was overturned after a VAR review showed Timothy Castagne's head and not arm had blocked Ollie Watkins' early goalbound effort, before they fell behind.

Youri Tielemans, who was continuously given too much space on the left, saw his cross bundled past Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno by American left-back Robinson, who was frantically attempting to cover Moussa Diaby's dangerous near-post run.

Captain McGinn, who was impressive throughout superbly picked his spot from 18 yards to double the home side's lead and almost had a hand in a fourth Villa goal late on when Joao Palhinha turned the Scottish midfielder's cross onto his own bar, with Watkins and Bailey then spurning opportunities to score.

Fulham's mounting problems
Fulham's problems, as they fell to their third Premier League defeat in four matches, appear glaringly obvious. They are struggling to replace the goals of Aleksandar Mitrovic, who left to join Al Hilal in the summer.

At this stage last season the Serbian international had already scored nine goals, whereas this term Robinson's two own goals are as many as the club's joint-top scorers, Palhinha and Bobby De Cordova-Reid.

Not even Jimenez's first top-flight goal since March 2022 was enough to lift the gloom for Silva's side, who were simply too passive during an opening 45 minutes in which they simply left themselves with too much to do.

Willian, Andreas Pereira and De Cordova-Reid all failed to impose themselves and were substituted, while Palhinha and Alex Iwobi often found themselves outmanoeuvred by the movement of an interchangeable Villa midfield.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67325043

[WhiteJC]

Post-Aston Villa Press Conference

Marco Silva was disappointed with the manner of goal Fulham conceded at Villa Park.

Aston Villa secured a 3-1 win on Sunday afternoon, but at least a couple of the goals could be considered preventable.

"It was a frustrating afternoon for us," Silva admitted. "I have to say that Villa deserved the three points.

"A football match is much more than just playing the first half or second half, you have to be consistent from the first minute.

"The frustration for us is the way we conceded the goals this afternoon. A second own goal this season so far in 12 games, the number is too big.

"We have to be much more relaxed. We know the quality of the teams that we are playing against and we have to be much more calm, much more relaxed in some moments when the ball is around our box.

"The second goal, again the way two players clashed with each other in one moment when we had that moment under control – easy to solve that problem there. And after they clashed, from that moment they built the second goal and made things much more difficult for us.

"To be honest, what frustrates me more from the first half was the way we played on the ball. We had one or two moments, one good moment on our right side when probably we should have created the clear chance to score.

"We planned to attack them in behind, we tried to do it, but first half was poor on the ball. We didn't express ourselves on the ball.

"We spoke at half-time, from a tactical point of view we didn't change many, many things, we just had to adjust and give the players the belief, and show them that we have to do much better on the ball, to start to express ourselves, and to be Fulham Football Club on the pitch that didn't exist first half.

"Second half, we did it from the first minute. I felt Villa dropped off the pitch, waited much more for us, didn't try to press so high to try to punish us on the counter attack, but from the first minute I felt that we were there.

"We were trying to score [to make it] 2-1, to get into the game again. We were commanding the game, and we cannot give another goal like we gave. We gave the third goal to them, after an offensive corner for us.

"We had the moment again to be calm, to be relaxed, to build the attack again, and we gave the ball away and we were sloppy. And they scored 3-0. When you make this many mistakes, we don't deserve nothing from the game.

"In the second half, from the first minute until the last, we tried. We scored a good goal with the way we planned to punish Villa, and we had one or two more moments on the right-hand side with Timothy to square the ball to Vini in a way we planned.

"With better finishing in that moment, we should have scored to at least make it 3-2, and after we can go for the game again.

"The players fought until the end. The second half was much, much better than the first, but the football match is not just one half. It's 95, 100 minutes. We have to start from the first minute in the way we did second half."

One positive to come from our trip to the Midlands was a first goal in black and white for Raúl Jiménez, and Silva hopes that lightens the burden on the striker's shoulders when he returns from international duty.

"For sure it's going to be not so heavy the next time that he's going to be on the pitch," he said. "It's a tough one to go such a long time without scoring in Premier League.

"Unfortunately for us, it didn't give the chance for us to add points with his goal. But I'm sure if he keeps working like he's doing, if he keeps doing his best, and we keep delivering for him as well, in the future he's going to score goals that can count towards those points for us."



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2023/november/12/post-aston-villa-press-conference/

[WhiteJC]

Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham: John McGinn and Ollie Watkins are on target and Antonee Robinson scores own goal as Unai Emery's side secure 13th home league victory in a row

    John McGinn and Ollie Watkins scored as Aston Villa won 3-1 against Fulham
    Antonee Robinson scored an own goal, with Raul Jimenez on target for Fulham

Forget the records. Forget the routine home wins – impressive as they are – over inferior teams. Between now and the end of the year, we will see what Unai Emery's Aston Villa are really made of.

When the Premier League returns from the international break, Villa travel to Tottenham. Then, within the space of four days in early December, they have home games against Manchester City and Arsenal, before a trip to Old Trafford on Boxing Day.

Emery continues to play down Villa's chances of finishing in the top four but if they are still in the hunt after those tests, it will be time to take their prospects seriously.

As for Fulham, they must be thankful that Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton are in the top flight this season.

Villa equalled two records here. Their 13th straight home victory in the top division matched a sequence they set 40 years ago, and they won their 21st Premier League game in a calendar year for the first time since 1998.


John McGinn celebrates after he scored Aston Villa's second goal of the game against Fulham
 

McGinn found the net just before half time with his third Premier League goal of the season
 

Ollie Watkins added to Villa's lead as he scored in the 64th minute of the clash at Villa Park
They could not have wished for more accommodating opponents, particularly in the first half.

Emery said: 'I don't think I have ever had a sequence like this in my career, although I don't pay too much attention to statistics.

'But of course I am happy. I can take my days off relaxing with the result we've had and where we are in the table. But each match is a new challenge.

'I am going to rest take some days resting but my mind is already on our next games: Tottenham, Legia Warsaw, Bournemouth and then Manchester City and Arsenal.'

An own-goal from Antonee Robinson put Villa one up and John McGinn made it two before half-time. Though Fulham improved after the break, Ollie Watkins made the game safe for the home side and ensured Raul Jimenez's sole reply had no impact on the outcome. There was even time for Watkins to produce an astonishing miss that will be listed among the season's worst howlers.

'We have to be much more calm and relaxed when defending,' complained Fulham boss Marco Silva. 'And then on the ball in the first half we were poor. We didn't exist in that aspect of the game. We have to be consistent for the whole game and the way we conceded goals was frustrating.'

Fulham have managed only 10 goals this season as they continue to struggle without Aleksandar Mitrovic, and the absence of defenders Tosin Adarabioyo, Kenny Tete – back on the bench here – and Issa Diop has hardly helped either. In the opening period they looked like a side going through the motions at the end of a season – rather worrying on November 12.

Villa thought they had won a penalty in the seventh minute when Timothy Castagne appeared to handle Watkins' volley.

After a VAR check, though, the decision was overturned as referee Simon Hooper ruled the ball had struck Castagne in the face.

Villa's superiority always looked as though it would tell and so it was no surprise when they took the lead. Douglas Luiz released Youri Tielemans on the left and though Moussa Diaby could not turn in the cross, it rebounded off the backtracking Robinson and into the net, and just before half-time Villa doubled their lead.

Lucas Digne's hopeful ball was not headed clear properly by Robinson, allowing McGinn to control it, step inside Joao Palhinha and drill beyond Bernd Leno from just inside the 'D'.

Emery demands the highest standards from his players and would have been furious that Fulham nearly pulled one back early in the second half.

Neither Ezri Konsa nor Pau Torres engaged Alex Iwobi quickly enough and the ball broke to Jimenez, whose effort beat Emiliano Martinez but hit the post. With the whole goal to aim at, Willian put the loose ball high and wide.

Fulham were starting to find some rhythm as Villa. Harry Wilson had replaced Decordova-Reid for the second half and was making an impact. As the travelling fans found their voice, Willian went close again as he guided Andreas Pereira's ball just wide.


Raul Jimenez managed to get a goal back for Fulham but they were still beaten by Villa
 

Unai Emery's Villa have now secured 13 successive home victories in the Premier League


Fulham's Alex Iwobi is left dejected during his team's game away to Aston Villa
Then the visitors were taught a brutal lesson. When their own corner was cleared, Robinson's misplaced pass fell to substitute Leon Bailey, who tore forward.

A clever return ball from McGinn sent Bailey charging into the box where he square for Watkins to turn in his 12th of the season for club and country.

Fulham's greater threat deserved a goal and they had it 20 minutes from time. Robinson sprang the offside trap and collected Wilson's pass from deep before giving Jimenez the simple task of scoring from close range.

The visitors kept pushing and sub Carlos Vinicius had a goal ruled for offside, and Watkins produced one of the misses of the season, somehow heading wide of an open goal from a yard when the Palhinha's miscued clearance rebounded off the bar.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12740137/Aston-Villa-3-1-Fulham-John-McGinn-Ollie-Watkins-target-Antonee-Robinson-scores-goal-Unai-Emerys-secure-13th-home-league-victory-row.html

[WhiteJC]

Aston Villa ease to 3-1 home win over Fulham
Nov 12 (Reuters) - Aston Villa cruised to a 3-1 win over Fulham thanks to an own goal by Antonee Robinson and strikes from John McGinn and Ollie Watkins in the Premier League on Sunday, matching the club's 40-year-old record of 13 home league victories in a row.

Villa Park is a fortress under Unai Emery and his side, along with Liverpool and Manchester City, are the only teams to win all their home Premier League games this term, with Villa netting at least three goals in every match at their stadium.

Villa took the lead in the 27th minute when Youri Tielemans snapped up a ball down the left wing and fired it across the goal, where Fulham defender Robinson turned it into his own net.

Villa captain McGinn netted the second goal three minutes before the break, picking up the ball outside the box and advancing before banging a low drive into the bottom corner.

Fulham were strong after the break and Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez got a fingertip to the ball to steer a low shot from Raul Jimenez onto the far post, and Willian almost pulled a goal back with a low drive that flew just wide.

Instead Watkins added the third with a close-range finish in the 64th minute as Villa again sliced open the visiting defence.

Fulham striker Jimenez then netted his first league goal since March 2022 to reduce the deficit but the away side came no closer, and Watkins should have made it 4-1 but somehow steered a late close-range header wide with the goal at his mercy.

The win leaves Villa in fifth place on 25 points, while the Cottagers are 16th with 12, though Emery is not getting carried away with his side's position in the table nor their home form.

"We are in the top five and I think this is a moment to enjoy and to analyse deeply, even when we are winning, how we can improve," he told reporters before paying tribute to McGinn.

"He (McGinn) is very demanding, he is competitive, he is always ready to play. Physically his energy is always full, when he's not training he's resting ... he's a very good example to other players and I really appreciate him as a person."

Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Clare Fallon, Toby Davis and Ken Ferris



https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/aston-villa-ease-3-1-home-win-over-fulham-2023-11-12/?rpc=401&;

[WhiteJC]

Watkins scores again as Villa beat Fulham for 13th straight home win
Forward nets his sixth goal of the season as Aston Villa move up to fifth

Aston Villa got back to winning ways and made it 13 straight home Premier League victories with a 3-1 success over Fulham.

How the match unfolded
Villa were awarded a penalty on eight minutes for a handball by Timothy Castagne, but referee Simon Hooper was sent to the Referee Review Area by the VAR as the ball was seen to hit the Fulham defender's face, and not his arm, with the decision subsequently overturned.

Villa took the lead on 27 minutes, with Youri Tielemans' left-wing cross aimed towards Moussa Diaby inadvertently turned into his own net by Antonee Robinson.

The home side doubled their advantage three minutes before half-time through captain John McGinn, who whipped a superb shot into the bottom-left corner from 20 yards.

Fulham responded in the second half, with Raul Jimenez's low strike tipped on to a post at full-stretch by Emiliano Martinez and Willian dragging a shot narrowly wide.

But it was Villa who struck next on 64 minutes, Ollie Watkins sweeping in from Leon Bailey's cross for his sixth league goal of the season.

The Cottagers did pull a goal back on 70 minutes through Jimenez, who tapped in from Robinson's square pass for his first Fulham goal.

Watkins missed a glorious chance to score his second, heading wide from point-blank range, but it didn't prove costly as Villa made their longest top-flight winning run at Villa Park since October 1983, and made it six victories in a row against London sides for the first time in their league history.

Villa move up to fifth on 25 points, two adrift of leaders Manchester City ahead of their trip to Chelsea.

A third defeat in four matches leaves Fulham in 16th, six points above the bottom three.

Did you know?
Aston Villa have won each of their last 13 home matches in the league, which is their longest such run in the top flight since October 1983. Furthermore, the Villans have won 14 home matches in the Premier League in 2023, as many as in the previous two calendar years combined.

Fulham have gone six Premier League away matches (D3 L3) without a win across the same campaign for the first time since April 2019. Meanwhile, the Cottagers have lost each of their last five away league matches to Aston Villa.

Ollie Watkins has been directly involved in 26 Premier League goals across 2023 (18 goals, eight assists), with only Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah boasting more involvements across this calendar year.

Antonee Robinson is the only player to have scored multiple own goals in the Premier League this season (two), and the first Fulham player to do so in a single campaign in the top flight since Chris Baird in 2011/12.

Raul Jimenez scored his first Premier League goal in this match since March 2022 v Watford, ending a run of 33 matches without a goal in the competition. In fact, the striker had gone 45 shots without scoring in the Premier League prior to this strike.

John McGinn has been involved in eight goals across 19 appearances in all competitions this season (five goals, three assists), his joint-most in a single campaign for Aston Villa since their promotion to the Premier League in 2019.



https://www.premierleague.com/news/3781868

[WhiteJC]

Fulham brushed aside as high-flying Aston Villa maintain 100 per cent home record
Marco Silva's out-of-sorts side have now lost three of their last four games to slip to 16th place in the table

Aston Villa registered their 13th Premier League home win on the bounce as Unai Emery's men beat Fulham 3-1.

Villa were two goals up at the break following an Antonee Robinson own-goal and a strike from skipper John McGinn.

Fulham came close early in the second half when Emiliano Martinez tipped a Raul Jimenez shot against a post before Ollie Watkins added a third for the hosts with a 64th-minute finish.

Jimenez pulled a goal back for the visitors, but Villa were not to be denied as they equalled the post-war club record for successive top-flight home victories, matching the 13 in a row achieved in 1983.

Emery's side have scored at least three times in each of their Villa Park wins this season, with the total being 23 goals for the midlands outfit across the six games.

It was also a return to winning ways in the league after last Sunday's 2-0 loss at Nottingham Forest, since when they had defeated AZ Alkmaar 2-1 at home in the Europa Conference League.

While fifth-placed Villa are a point outside the top four, Marco Silva's Fulham are 16th after their winless run in the league extended to a fourth game.

The home side made a lively start to the contest and after Moussa Diaby had a sixth-minute effort saved by Bernd Leno, another Villa attack moments later saw Watkins' shot come off Timothy Castagne and referee Simon Hooper award a penalty.

However, VAR intervened and with Hooper having surveyed footage pitchside, the handball decision was overturned.

Martinez was then called into action to keep out an Andreas Pereira strike, although the flag was up for offside, before Emery's men pushed forward again and took the lead in the 27th minute.

Youri Tielemans, making his first league start for Villa, curled a delivery from the left towards Diaby and the ball went off Robinson into the net - the defender's second own-goal of the season, having also scored one in Fulham's win against Sheffield United last month.

As Villa sought a second, Matty Cash was denied by Leno, and the advantage was doubled in the 42nd minute as McGinn collected the ball from a Robinson header, took a touch to move away from Joao Palhinha and fired in from just outside the box.

Fulham started well after the interval and almost reduced the deficit three minutes in when a Martinez touch diverted Jimenez's strike against a post, with Willian shooting over on the follow-up.

There was also a shot just wide of the near post from Willian, but soon after Villa made it 3-0 as Leon Bailey, just off the bench, crossed and Watkins sidefooted in his 11th club goal of the season in all competitions.

Jimenez produced a similar finish, teed up by Robinson in the 70th minute, to open his Fulham account - his first Premier League goal since March 2022.

Substitute Carlos Vinicius thought he had scored another for Fulham in the 81st minute when he went around Martinez and slotted in, but he was flagged offside, before the ball hit the Fulham bar off Palhinha and Watkins headed the loose ball wide when looking certain to score - a surprising miss that mattered little come the final whistle.



https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/aston-villa-fulham-fc-result-premier-league-b1119809.html

[WhiteJC]

Clinton Morrison thinks £10m Fulham man is nowhere near as good as he was last season
Pundit Clinton Morrison has admitted that he doesn't think Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira is the same player as last season.

Morrison was covering the match for Sky Sports News as Fulham fell to another disappointing away defeat.

Marco Silva only made a couple of changes from the heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Manchester United last weekend.

He was forced to bring in a replacement for the injured Rodrigo Muniz and Raul Jimenez was the chosen man.

The other change saw Bobby De Cordova-Reid come in for Harry Wilson although Silva reversed that change at half-time.

Aston Villa's first goal was equal parts unlucky and sloppy as Antonee Robinson ended up scoring his second own goal of the season.

John McGinn doubled the home side's lead before Ollie Watkins put the game to bed.

Fulham have been nowhere near as prolific in attack as they were last season and Andreas Pereira will be disappointed with his output this season.

He has just a single goal and assist to his name so far in this campaign and looks like he's desperately missing Aleksandar Mitrovic in attack.

Instead, he's joined by new signing Raul Jimenez who finally ended his long run without a league goal.

Pereira not the same for Fulham this season
When the score line was 2-0, Fulham were in the ascendancy and Morrison commented on one particular attack that, as has been the case so often this season, fizzled out to nothing: "They've been good Fulham, they're getting in a few times.

"They nearly got in again but VAR checked it and he was offside, Harry Wilson couldn't get his shot away.

"Villa play such a high line, but I'll tell you who can do better and isn't the same player this season, [Andreas] Pereira in that number ten role.

"And now he's starting to get on the ball and makes things happen and they are causing problems."

Pereira was brought in for £10m by Fulham last season and was fantastic during his first campaign with the club.

Unfortunately, Silva hasn't found a way to get his side playing at the same level as they did while Mitrovic was in the side.

Jimenez, Muniz and Carlos Vinicius aren't at the same level as the Serbian and it's having a knock-on effect on the rest of the squad.

The January transfer window can't come soon enough and the Whites are already looking at potential options in that position.



https://www.fulham.news/2023/11/12/clinton-morrison-thinks-10m-fulham-man-is-nowhere-near-as-good-as-he-was-last-season/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham 1 Pompey Women 9
Blues ease into FA Cup second round

Pompey Women were at their ruthless best to beat Fulham 9-1 and cruise into the second round of the FA Cup.

Beth Lumsden hit a hat-trick in the capital and there were braces from Sophie Quirk and Emma Jones, with Ava Rowbotham and Ella Humphrey completing the rout.

Jay Sadler made three changes from the side that beat MK Dons in the league to climb to the top of the table last week.

Evie Gane, Ella Wild and Georgie Freeland all came into the starting line-up, as Nicole Barrett, Izzy Collins and Dani Lane dropped to the bench.

It was actually the home side who were first to threaten, with a corner from Madi Parsonson drifting against the crossbar.

Pompey soon began to dominate, however, and an attempt from Freeland was gathered by Ellie Parker.

They broke the deadlock on 10 minutes, when a cross was cleared to Jones, who picked out QUIRK to curl home from the edge of the box.

And it was JONES who then doubled the advantage midway through the first half, curling a 20-yard free-kick over the wall and into the net.

Despite controlling possession and spending most of the time inside the opposition half, though, the Blues were struggling to create more clear-cut openings.

But they did make their pressure count just before the break, as Quirk drove purposefully down the left before cutting the ball back for JONES to power past Parker.

Half Time: Fulham 0 Pompey 3

The visitors had produced a professional performance in the first half and moved through the gears once the action restarted.

Rowbotham collected a clever disguised pass from Quirk, advanced into the area and fired narrowly over the crossbar.

It was LUMSDEN who effectively wrapped things up on 55 minutes, however, finding the bottom corner after Jones' initial effort had been deflected into her path.

And Pompey scored again straight from kick-off, launching a quick break that led to QUIRK beating a defender and firing home.

They were rampant by this point and LUMSDEN soon had another goal after pouncing on a loose pass inside the Fulham box.

Still they continued to pour forward and ROWBOTHAM showed superb vision to spot Parker off her line and find the target with a lifted finish from just inside the opposition half.

The celebrations had barely died down when LUMSDEN then completed a 10-minute treble, capitalising on some more sloppy defensive play and rolling the ball into an empty net.

Fulham did at least have something to cheer on 68 minutes, when Megalie Mendes curled home a free-kick.

It was the Blues who completed the scoring, though, as substitute HUMPHREY raced half the length of the pitch before firing inside Parker's near post.

With more than 10 minutes of the contest remaining, the only surprise was that there were no more goals to add to a clinical display.

Pompey: Haughton; Gane, Younger, Casley (Barrett 66), Wild; Freeland, Rowbotham (Walker 88), Hall; Lumsden (Humphrey 68), Jones, Quirk
Subs not used: Bowers, Collins, Lane, Pitman



https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2023/november/fulham-1-pompey-women-9/

[WhiteJC]

"We didn't exist on the ball" – Silva bemoans Fulham's tepid first-half display in Aston Villa defeat
Marco Silva felt his Fulham's attacking play was the weakest part of their underwhelming first-half display in today's 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

Fulham fell behind through an Antonee Robinson own goal at Villa Park before John McGinn doubled their lead before the interval.

Ollie Watkins extended Villa's advantage in the second half before Raul Jimenez netted a consolation for the Whites.

Although Fulham made a number of defensive mistakes for the Villa goals, Silva was more disappointed by how his team performed when they were in possession.

"What frustrated me most in the first half was the way we played on the ball," he said.

"There were one or two moments where we should have created chances to score with the way we attacked them in behind, but in the first half we were poor on the ball. We didn't express ourselves on the ball.

"We spoke at half-time and even though we didn't change many things we just tried to adjust and show the players we have to be much better on the ball. Second half we did it."

As little as Fulham threatened with the ball in the first half in registering just two shots at goal, defensive mistakes still put them on the back foot against a Villa side that cruised to a 13th consecutive home league win.

Robinson was in the wrong place at the wrong time as he turned home a Youri Tielemans cross after Berno Leno had missed the ball, and McGinn capitalised on Fulham's inability to clear their lines to rifle in the second.

The defensive mishaps were compounded by Robinson giving the ball away at a Fulham corner before Villa broke and substitute Leon Bailey crossed for Watkins to score.

"It was a frustrating afternoon for us, Villa deserved the three points," Silva said.

"We have to be consistent from the first minute. We are frustrated with the goals we have conceded this afternoon. This is the second or third own goal so far in 12 games – it's too many.

"We have to be much more relaxed to solve some problems. We have to be much more calm and much more relaxed when the ball is around our box.

"For the second goal, two [Fulham] players clash with each other around our box. It is easy to solve that problem. They get the second goal and it makes everything much more difficult for us.

"For the third goal it was a corner for us, and we have to be calm and relaxed, but we gave the ball away again and were sloppy."



https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/we-didnt-exist-on-the-ball-silva-bemoans-fulhams-tepid-first-half-display-in-aston-villa-defeat/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham boss believes ending lengthy barren streak will help Jimenez earn Whites points in the future
The pressure on Raul Jimenez' shoulders will "not be so heavy" according to Marco Silva, after he scored his first goal in a Fulham shirt.

The Mexican striker notched his first Premier League strike since January 2022 at in the 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa this afternoon.

Having earlier hit the post at Villa Park, Jimenez tapped in from an Antonee Robinson pass to find the net for the first time in 33 games, and Silva believes it will benefit him going forward.

"For sure it is going to be not so heavy the next time he is on the pitch," said Silva when asked if the goal would alleviate tension for the striker.

"He's had a tough time not scoring in the Premier League. Unfortunately for us, the goal didn't help us get points.

"If he keeps working like he is doing, trying to do his best, then he is going to score and deliver points for us."

Jimenez's goal was only the second time Fulham have found the net in the last four matches, and the Whites remain the joint-second lowest scores in the top flight.

Silva made it clear that it is his responsibility to instil some confidence in his players with winnable home matches against Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Burnley coming up.

"It's our job to do it," he said. "To make them [the players] understand what we want and make them believe.

"As always, I am responsible for what happens at this football club and it is my job to give confidence to the players."



https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/fulham-boss-believes-ending-lengthy-barren-streak-will-help-jimenez-earn-whites-points-in-the-future/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham boss explains decision to start Harry Wilson on the bench in Aston Villa defeat
Marco Silva explained that Harry Wilson was dropped from his starting line-up for Sunday's game against Aston Villa for tactical reasons.

Wilson, who started last weekend and impressed against Manchester United after coming off the bench to assist Joao Palhinha's equalising goal at Brighton the week before, started on the bench with Bobby De Cordova-Reid taking his place on the right of midfield.

The Welsh international was introduced at half-time at Villa Park with Silva's side 2-0 down and immediately made Fulham better in attack.

Wilson created Raul Jimenez' consolation goal with a perfectly-weighted pass to Antonee Robinson that allowed the left-back to square for the striker to tap home.

 "He knows why he didn't start this game," said Silva. "It was a strategic decision. I already told him that he deserved to start the game.

"It was something I wanted to do to have a different profile.

"He did the same game against Brighton, and the same against Man United – he was one of our best players on the pitch and he will be one of the best players on the pitch in the future."



https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/fulham-boss-explains-decision-to-start-harry-wilson-on-the-bench-in-aston-villa-defeat/

[WhiteJC]

£22m Fulham man's dribbling singled out for praise vs Aston Villa
There weren't many players who came out of Fulham's defeat to Aston Villa with much credit but new signing Alex Iwobi was one of them.

Covering the match on Sky Sports, Clinton Morrison singled out the Nigerian for praise in the second half after another defeat for Marco Silva's side.

If there was any doubt going into the match, Fulham are quickly being dragged into the relegation battle.

Results from the weekend saw the Whites drop to 16th in the league with Bournemouth picking up a big win against Newcastle and Wolves defeating Spurs.

Fulham's point against Arsenal looks like an anomaly at this stage and scoring goals is becoming a huge issue.

Tony Khan didn't find a suitable replacement for Aleksandar Mitrovic in the transfer window and despite scoring his first league goal for the club, Raul Jimenez has not been a good enough replacement yet.

However, one signing who did make a decent impact for Fulham against Aston Villa was Alex Iwobi.

The versatile £22m Nigerian international looked comfortable on the ball and is combining with his new teammates well.

He's not the best at tracking his man out of possession but appears to be providing some creative threat in the final third where Andreas Pereira has been lacking recently.

Iwobi stars for Fulham in Villa defeat
During one attack that once again ended in a missed opportunity, Morrison said: "Good play from [Alex] Iwobi, who went past Pau Torres like he wasn't there.

"He plays it to [Raul] Jimenez, and I'm thinking just looking at the replay that he would have been offside, but it's unlucky.

"This is how it's going for Jimenez, he drives it, beats [Emi] Martinez, hits the post comes out to Willian and he blazes it over the bar, but it's been a good start for Fulham."

Iwobi, like many of Fulham's players, needs to find a way to add more goals and assists to his game after the international break.

While that's not the only important metric to measure his performances on considering he's playing as a number eight, Fulham thrived last season when everyone chipped in in front of goal.

Iwobi appears to be growing in confidence for Fulham and can take some positives from his display against Aston Villa.

Today's result makes the match against Wolves even more important after the international break.



https://www.fulham.news/2023/11/12/22m-fulham-mans-dribbling-singled-out-for-praise-vs-aston-villa/

[WhiteJC]

Alex Iwobi: Wizkid showed me love when I wasn't famous
Alex Iwobi, Super Eagles star, says Wizkid, Afrobeats singer, showed him love even when he was not known.

In an interview with Oma Sports TV, the footballer shared his admiration for Wizkid.

He said the singer has always shown him love, even before they became well acquainted.

He added that Wizkid is someone he has so much respect for.

"Wizkid's show at Tottenham stadium is my favourite Nigerian show, I really enjoyed myself. I did not get to meet him that day. But I have met him previous times and he is a very nice and very humble guy," he said.

"The first time I met him, he showed me love when he first met me even though he did not know who I was at the time.

"I have seen him in stores and even in the club as well, and he has always shown me so much love. He is someone that I really respect."

Iwobi's football career began at Arsenal, where he honed his skills and established himself as a formidable player.

Currently, he serves as a midfielder for Premier League club Fulham and the Super Eagles, Nigeria's national team.

Wizkid, on the other hand, has firmly established himself as one of the prominent names in the African music industry, with a slew of awards and accolades.



https://lifestyle.thecable.ng/alex-iwobi-wizkid-showed-me-love-when-i-wasnt-famous/