A tough night at Craven Cottage was just what Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard didn't need having failed to win in the league since mid-September, but it wasn't to be Gerrard or Villa's day. Here's what we learned as Fulham beat Villa 3-0 and Gerrard got the sack. 

Poor Performance:

With their second game against a West London side in just a matter of days, Aston Villa were hoping to build on elements of positivity that were shown in their last game against Chelsea, where they produced a man of the match performance from goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who made a personal record of seven saves to keep Villa at bay. But any hope that Villa could take points from this game were unfounded once they had conceded, as they didn't have the creativity or much sense of a gameplay. Club captain John McGinn slammed his side's performance as "embarrassing" and made no excuses for their second consecutive defeat without scoring a goal in a game which saw them concede a penalty, have a man sent off in Douglas Luiz and concede an own goal. Calamitous stuff. The away fans were heard chanting "Steven Gerrard get out of our club" during the second half and as the game reached full-time.

The Villain: 

Gerrard took the fall for Villa's poor, disjointed display, losing his position just over an hour after the match drew to its conclusion. Villa's chairman and co-owner Naseef Sawiris is believed to have left his seat before the final whistle, no doubt laying the groundwork for what was deemed a necessary decision, with Gerrard being the second manager he has dismissed within a 12 month period following Dean Smith's sacking in November 2021. Gerrard travelled back with the team on the bus back to Birmingham, having received his marching orders.

In terms of Gerrard's replacement, it is a sign of Villa's ambitions that names such as Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel have been mentioned alongside Sean Dyche and former assistant manager Michael Beale, though former Chelsea manager Tuchel is believed to be uninterested in the vacant Villa role.

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Fulham celebrate Aleksander Mitrovic's penalty conversion
Creator: Justin Setterfield | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2022 Getty Images

 

Fulham Flattered?

This game wasn't all about the woes of Gerrard and his Aston Villa team who now sit 17th in the Premier League table. Fulham deservedly won the game, picking up their fourth win of the season and their third at home leaving them sitting in the top half of the table in ninth. 

The goal from Harrison Reed was the only of Fulham's own making but it was a truly great 20 yard strike and reflected Fulham's first-half dominance. Despite a couple of attempts on Bernd Leno's goal, 1-0 at the break was enough to see the heads drop of the Villa players as they left the pitch to a chorus of booing. Importantly for Fulham, they picked up three points, benefitting from Villa's complete second-half collapse. Having only managed to gain one point from their last three league fixtures and having achieved only one away win in this campaign to date, their league table position perhaps flatters their current form.

Aleksander Attacks

Some players seem to have a habit of winding-up their opponents, think Diego Costa, Giorgio Chiellini or Aleksander Mitrovic. The latter was the recipient of a wild head-butting from Douglas Luiz just after the hour mark, seeing the Brazilian taking his leave early. The incident took place off the ball and was the subject of a VAR decision; effectively his dismissal ended any prospects that Villa may have had.

Just six minutes later, Mitrovic converted a penalty which he had won from the inadvertent arm of Matty Cash, when he committed a blatant handball to block the forwards shot.  Mitrovic bagged his eighth goal of the season and put the game far beyond the reach of the misfiring visitors. Mitrovic appears to be enjoying his return to the top flight and is playing each game like he has a point to prove, giving opposing teams night mares along the way, just in time for Halloween. Watch out Leeds United, you're up next.  

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