Fulham 1-0 Aston Villa: Sessegnon keeps Silva’s side in European hunt

Fulham kept themselves in the hunt for European football next season asRyan Sessegnon’s 43rd-minute strike earned a narrow 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.

Marco Silva’s side temporarilymoved into the top half of the Premier League ahead of the weekend’s action and are now just two points behind sixth-placed Brighton.

After a cagey opening,Morgan Rogers was presented with the game’s first opportunity when he was set free down the right by John McGinn, but after cutting inside, he flashed his side just wide of the far post.

The in-form Ollie Watkins then went close a minute later with England boss Thomas Tuchel watching on in the stands, but the visitors were made to rue those missed chances two minutes before the break.

Sasa Lukic saw his initial header brilliantly saved byEmiliano Martínez, only for the rebound to fall kindly toSessegnon, who smashed the ball home from close range.

Fulham thought they had doubled their lead in the 65th minute when Lukic’s deep corner was nodded in byTimothy Castagne, but the goal was ruled out by refereeMichael Oliver for a foul on Martinez bySander Berge.

Villa continued to push for a leveller and almost sealed a share of the spoils seven minutes from time, butTammy Abraham, who scored the winning goal in their thrilling win over Sunderland last time out, fired over after beatingJoachim Andersen with a fine bit of skill.

Data Debrief: Villa falter on the road again

After their defeat at Craven Cottage, Villa could drop to fifth if Liverpool beat Crystal Palace later on Saturday, and while their position in the Champions League places looks all but assured, Unai Emery will want to correct his team’s form on the road.

The Villanshave now won one of their last eightaway Premier League games (D3 L4) and are winless in five(D2 L3), while Emery also lost his first match against Fulham in the Premier League in what was his ninth encounter against them.

Fulham, meanwhile, ended a run of six consecutive defeats againstVilla.Since the start of 2000, the Cottagers have now only beaten Bolton Wanderers (11) and Newcastle United (11) more often on home soil in league action than the Villans (nine).

Silva’s side defended stoutly and took their chancewhen it mattered. They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.06 from their 13 shots to Villa’s tally of 0.71 from their 10 attempts onBernd Leno’s net.