Crouch ‘licking his lips’ after what ‘phenomenal’ Aston Villa star did v Fulham
Peter Crouch would have loved to see what happened as Aston Villa took a 1-0 lead into half time against Fulham on Saturday.
The Villans welcomed Marco Silva’s side to Villa Park on 3 May and took the lead after just 12 minutes through Youri Tielemans.
It was a mixed bag of 45 minutes for Unai Emery to digest, but ultimately, all that matters is that the B6 club secure a huge three points.
The claret and blue outfit took one step closer to doing exactly that with one moment imparticular bound to catch the eye of Crouch at Villa Park.
Rio Ferdinand gushes over Aston Villa moment Crouch loved
Another game, another set-piece goal for Villa and Austin MacPhee in the dugout.
The Scottish coach has come under fire for his presence in the technical area in the Midlands, but there is no doubt that he has been successful.
| Team | Set piece goals |
| Aston Villa | 15 |
| Crystal Palace | 15 |
| Arsenal | 14 |
| Nottingham Forest | 14 |
This was one again on show against the Cottagers, with a corner once again opening up the game and giving the home side the lead.
Tielemans powered home a header, which gave Fulham keeper Bernd Leno no chance of keeping the score level in B6.
This came from a superb John McGinn cross who curled in an excellent ball to the near post before the Belgium international bagged the opener.
This left Ferdinand blown away live on TNT Sports (3 May, 01:24pm), as he suggested former Villa man Crouch would have loved to have that sort of service in his playing days.
Speaking on the Scotland international’s assist, he said: “Oh, it’s phenomenal. On his 250th appearance as well. Crouchy [Peter Crouch] is licking his lips, looking at it, he’d have been all over it.
“One of the smallest men on the pitch managed to get onto it, and that tells you that the delivery’s got to be perfect, the timing of the run has to be perfect. It’s a wonderful header from Tielemans, a great goal.”
Tielemans shines for Aston Villa v Fulham
There is plenty of argument to suggest that the 27-year-old has been the player of the year for the Villans after another excellent season.
This continued against Fulham, where the Belgian shone once again, even with the likes of Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers struggling to impose themselves in B6.
With just three games remaining in the Premier League, the former Leicester City man has to keep up this form if Villa are to secure a top-five finish.
On this occasion, Tielemans has McGinn to thank in what was a superb way to open up the scoring in B6.