Aston Villa were victorious against Fulham this weekend, beating them 3-1 at Craven Cottage. It was an eventful game, entailing four goals, two red cards, and a missed penalty.

Fulham took the lead after just five minutes, with Raúl Jiménez scoring his fourth Premier League goal of the season. Morgan Rogers quickly equalised, scoring in the ninth minute to make it 1-1. Then, after just 27 minutes, Fulham had the chance to make it 2-1, with Andreas Pereira missing a penalty (saved by Emiliano Martínez).

Villa struck next, making it 2-1 in the 59th minute, Ollie Watkins netting his 5th of the season, before Joachim Andersen received his marching orders for a “last man” foul in the 64th minute, leaving Fulham with 10 men. In the 69th minute, Issa Diop scored an own-goal, making it 3-1 to Aston Villa.

Jaden Philogene was then sent off in the final minutes of the game, despite only coming on in the 61st minute, after receiving two yellow cards in the 88th and 93rd minute. Villa now sit fourth in the Premier League on 17 points, and a large part of that is the excellent form of Youri Tielemans.

Youri Tielemans' performance

The 27-year-old has started the season in fine form, now making ten appearances, scoring one goal, providing three assists, and totaling 891 minutes played. The Belgian has formed a brilliant partnership in midfield with international teammate, and new signing, Amadou Onana, providing Unai Emery’s side with brilliant balance.

And Tielemans shone once again, making 62/68 passes (91% completion), four key passes, 4/5 long balls, getting his assist, and winning 5/8 of his ground duels, showing his ability to contribute on both sides of the ball.

Stat

Tielemans

Minutes

90

Assists

1

Touches

92

Accurate Passes

62/68

Key Passes

4

Crosses

3/10

Long Balls

4/5

Dribbles Completed

1/1

Ground Duels Won

5/8

Aerial Duels Won

1/1

Tackles

2

The form of the Belgian duo is keeping some talented names out of Emery’s first XI, with Ross Barkley, Boubacar Kamara, and even John McGinn on the bench against Fulham. Whilst Barkley and Kamara are slightly more likely to be affected by the form of that double pivot, McGinn can play a number of positions, so the fact he is missing out is down to the form of another Villa star, in the shape of Rogers.

Morgan Rogers' performance

Rogers was given an 8/10 match rating by BirminghamMail for his performance against Fulham, which included his 2nd goal of the season.

The 22-year-old has made ten appearances for Villa in all competitions this campaign, scoring two goals, and providing two assists so far.

The English attacking midfielder took three shots in the game, scoring a goal, providing one key pass, and completing his only attempted dribble (100% success rate) during the game.

Rogers’ persistence to make things happen in the final third for Villa, driving them forward, and looking to create for himself and others, has been a breath of fresh air this season for the fans, which is why he was just as good as Tielemans on Saturday.

If the form of Tielemans and Rogers, who scored his first goal of the campaign against Ipswich in the clip above, can continue, along with many others such as Watkins, Jhon Duran, and Martinez, Villa could be in good stead to challenge for the top four again.