John Townley's Aston Villa player ratings as 9 and 8s awarded after 3

John Townley's Aston Villa player ratings as 9 and 8s awarded after 3-1 Fulham victory

John Townley's Aston Villa player ratings after Unai Emery's side claim their first Premier League win of the season

Aston Villa secured their first Premier League win of the season at the sixth attempt, coming from behind to beat Fulham 3-1 at Villa Park.

Raúl Jiménez opened the scoring in the third minute, flicking Sasa Lukić’s corner inside the far post, but Ollie Watkins equalised shortly before half-time with his first goal of the campaign.

John McGinn then completed the comeback for Villa four minutes into the second half, before substitute Emi Buendía extended the lead in front of the Holte End.

Fulham started on the front foot and forced an early advantage as Jiménez scored his first league goal of the season, but the Mexico international was replaced shortly after by Adama Traoré due to injury.

Fulham youngster Josh King was a thorn in the Villa defence during the first period but was booked for simulation after knocking the ball past Emi Martínez in the box before going to ground, having lost his chance.

Villa’s first big chance of the half came in the 18th minute when McGinn won possession back in the Fulham box before bending his effort wide of the far post.

Five minutes after Unai Emery was forced into a change — with Tyrone Mings coming off for Pau Torres — Watkins hit back for the hosts, scoring his first league goal of the season.

Villa came into the game having failed to score in each of their previous two home Premier League matches, and had last gone without scoring in their first three home league games of a top-flight season back in 1946-47.

Lucas Digne sent a ball down the middle of the pitch, and as Fulham’s defence struggled to clear their lines, Watkins lobbed Bernd Leno with an inch-perfect finish. The England international had failed to score in his last seven Premier League appearances, his longest run without a goal since going eight games between April and August 2024.

Before eight minutes of first-half stoppage time were added, Villa created a carbon-copy chance to the one which Watkins converted, as McGinn picked out Morgan Rogers’ run. Unable to bring the ball under control from the height it dropped, Rogers couldn’t quite get one-on-one with Leno.

Emery introduced Buendía for the start of the second half, replacing Harvey Elliott, who was making his first league start for the club. The Argentine rolled the ball to McGinn in the 49th minute before the skipper charged forward and unleashed an unstoppable effort into the corner.

Moments later, Buendía scored himself — his first Premier League goal in 925 days, dating back to March 2023 when he netted in a 3-0 win over Bournemouth.

Martínez, perhaps too confident with Villa’s lead, was caught out in the box after Buendía’s goal, gifting Fulham a golden chance to reduce the deficit, but Lukić was denied on the goal line by Konsa, who flung himself in the way of the shot.

Villa have now won eight of their last nine Premier League meetings with Fulham, including the last six in a row since a 3-0 defeat in October 2022. This marks their first run of six successive league wins against any opponent since they achieved the feat versus rivals Birmingham City between October 2005 and April 2010.

Player ratings

Emi Martínez Martínez returned to the starting XI after missing the Europa League opener against Bologna. He was quick off his line on several occasions but was too confident on the ball inside his own box just after Villa scored their first goal — Konsa bailed him out, though. 6

Matty Cash Cash has started all eight of Villa's matches so far this term. He has been one of Villa's better performers this season and looked frustrated when the crowd urged him to move the ball forward quickly. Solid display from the right-back again today. 7

Ezri Konsa Konsa had to adapt after Mings came off injured half an hour into the game. He made a goal-saving block just after Buendia's goal, denying Lukic on the line. 8

Tyrone Mings Mings came back into the team after Pau Torres was preferred in midweek but went off in the first half. N/A

Lucas Digne Digne also returned to the starting XI, replacing Ian Maatsen. The Frenchman combined well with Rogers on the left and saw a free-kick from a dangerous area saved by Leno in first-half additional time. His ball over the top allowed Watkins to score his first of the season and draw Villa level. 7

Lamare Bogarde Bogarde replaced Boubacar Kamara, who was probably dealing with a little fatigue after recovering from a hamstring problem earlier this month. The 21-year-old lost Jiménez before the Mexico international headed past Villa early on, as Bogarde was blocked in the box. As has been the case with a few of his recent performances, he has grown into the game. Promising talent. 7

John McGinn Fresh after scoring the only goal against Bologna, McGinn should have levelled for Villa in the 18th minute but made up for it when he lashed in Villa's second to complete the comeback early in the second half. The earlier chance came after he won the ball back in the final third, while he also lofted the ball over for Rogers just before half-time — it would have been some assist had it led to a goal. 9*

Evann Guessand Guessand showed his physical capabilities today as Ryan Sessegnon struggled to keep a lid on him. His final ball still needs work, but there were plenty of encouraging signs. Emery clearly rates him, as he is keeping Donyell Malen out of the team. 7

Harvey Elliott Elliott made his first league start in claret and blue today. He was brought off at the break but misplaced only one of the 18 passes he attempted in the first half. 6

Morgan Rogers It may take a little time for Rogers to return to his best level, but he showed some encouraging signs today. Not everything came off for him, but it’s important that he expresses himself instead of always looking for the safe pass, which other players might do. He nearly had a one-on-one opportunity against Leno towards the end of the first half but couldn’t quite bring the ball under control after being picked out by McGinn. Made the most chances in the match (three). 7

Ollie Watkins Watkins came into the game having failed to score in his last seven Premier League appearances — his longest run without a goal since going eight games between April and August 2024. He was bound to end his drought sooner rather than later and did so with a sublime lob over Leno. His finish had to be perfect, and it was. 8

SUBS

Pau Torres (for Mings, 32’): Torres would have counted himself unlucky not to have started today considering his strong performance against Bologna on Thursday night. 7

Emi Buendía (for Elliott, 46’): Made an instant impact, playing the ball for McGinn to score before then giving his team a two-goal cushion. 8

Boubacar Kamara (for McGinn, 72’): Gave McGinn a breather after his excellent display. There’s no Villa player you’d rather bring on to protect a lead than Kamara. 7

Donyell Malen (for Guessand, 83'): N/A

Victor Lindelof (for Bogarde, 83'): N/A

Subs not used: Bizot, Maatsen, Sancho, Burrowes.

GOALS

Aston Villa: Watkins (37'), McGinn (49'), Buendia (51')

Fulham: Jimenez (3')

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