Classy Fulham brush aside feeble Villa

Fulham 3 Aston Villa 0

Goals from Harrison Reed, Aleksandar Mitrovic and a Tyrone Mings own goal helped Fulham to a first win in four matches and heaped more pressure on Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard.

The Whites dominated the opening period as Emiliano Martinez denied both Andreas Pereira and Mitrovic with excellent saves and Mings also blocking a goalbound effort from the Serbian striker on the line.

The Whites finally got the breakthrough they richly deserved when Reed found the bottom corner with a superb strike from 25 yards 10 minutes before half-time.

Villa, who created very little, almost equalised just before the break when Tim Ream and Bernd Leno got into a mix-up in the box when attacking a bouncing ball, but Ollie Watkins was denied by Issa Diop on the line.

The visitors, who have only tasted victory twice this season, were reduced to 10 men midway through the second period when Douglas Luiz was shown a straight red card after clashing with Mitrovic off the ball following a VAR consultation by Michael Oliver.

That decision effectively ended the game as a contest with Mitrovic doubling the hosts’ lead from the penalty spot after Matthew Cash was adjudged to have handballed a cross from the Fulham talisman.

Villa’s woes were compounded five minutes from time when Mings deflected a Neeskens Kebano cross into his own net to hoist Fulham up to ninth spot on the table.

Fulham: Leno, Robinson, Ream, Diop, Decordova-Reid, Reed (Cairney 72), Pereira (Harris 87), Palhinha, Willian (James 72), Kebano (Wilson 85), Mitrovic (Vinicius 85). Subs not used: Rodak, Tosin, Duffy, Mbabu.