Villa keep champions league hopes alive with gritty 1-0 win over Fulham

Unai Emery’s pursuit of Champions League football next season has become an all-consuming mission—and Aston Villa’s narrow 1–0 win over Fulham showed just how high the stakes are.

Early in the second half, tensions boiled over when Emery furiously berated defender Ezri Konsa for a sloppy mistake that nearly handed Fulham an equaliser. Konsa, visibly irate, fired back—a sign of the pressure mounting at Villa Park.

Yet despite the drama, Villa claimed a crucial three points that keep their top-five hopes very much alive. Now level on points with Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, Emery urged fans to “keep on dreaming” with pivotal games looming against Bournemouth, Tottenham, and Manchester United.

According to the Telegram, this victory halted a worrying slide after back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and Crystal Palace, and extended Villa’s unbeaten home run to 17 Premier League matches—a joint record for the club.

Fulham, who still harbour ambitions of qualifying for Europe themselves, rarely threatened Emiliano Martinez in goal. Their frustration boiled over late in the game when manager Marco Silva was booked for arguing with the fourth official.

The decisive moment came in the 12th minute. A John McGinn corner evaded the Fulham defence, allowing Youri Tielemans—arguably Villa’s standout performer—to crash a powerful header past Bernd Leno.

Tielemans nearly doubled the lead with a long-range strike that forced a fine save from Leno, though referee Robert Jones controversially awarded a goal kick.

Jones reportedly made several questionable decisions throughout, though he was right to disallow a Ryan Sessegnon goal for clear handball early in the second half.

The Emery–Konsa confrontation followed soon after, as Fulham’s Raul Jimenez dispossessed Konsa, sparking a counterattack that nearly resulted in a goal for Harry Wilson.

Villa had chances to seal the result, with Ollie Watkins and substitute Donyell Malen both going close—Malen striking the crossbar in stoppage time.

It was a nervy finish, but Emery’s team held on. The dream of a return to European elite competition remains intact.

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