Aston Villa slammed by Chris Sutton for ‘lethargic’ moment vs Fulham that ‘sums up’ their season
Aston Villa ended their torrid start to the season with a 3-1 win over Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
The Villans sat inside the bottom three of the early-season Premier League table prior to kick-off, having scored just once in their opening five league games.
Harvey Elliott had been handed his first Aston Villa start in the visit of Fulham, but things didn’t go to plan early on with the visitors gaining an early 1-0 lead.
However goals from Ollie Watkins, John McGinn and Emi Buendia ensured Villa ended the game with three points.
Unai Emery’s position is coming under threat in B6, and his situation could be about to grow even greater amid another frustrating moment at Villa Park.
Aston Villa defending “lethargic” for Raul Jimenez goal
Emery’s situation is unravelling somewhat at Aston Villa amid their woeful start to the campaign, and things do not look like getting any easier for the boss any time soon.
The Spanish chief was left to watch on in frustration as his side fell behind in just the third minute of the action, as they failed to defend a corner from the visitors.
Raul Jimenez made a run across the near post and was able to glance Sasa Lukic’s delivery into the far corner of Emi Martinez’s net to give his side an early lead.
The Villans’ defending was found wanting yet again as they failed to react effectively as the ball came in, and they were ultimately made to pay.
Ex-Villa striker Chris Sutton slammed his former side for the way that they defended the set piece, as he felt it was indicative of their season so far.
“We spoke about Aston Villa’s lethargy; they were lethargic from that corner,” Sutton said on Sky Sports Main Event (28 September, 2:04pm).
“It’s a great run from Jimenez, he gets across that near post and uses the pace of the ball to glance it into that far corner.
“That pretty much sums up Aston Villa’s start to the season, that goal.”
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Unai Emery has been helped by his key players
Emery’s situation at Villa has been grave after the way they have started the campaign, and it’s fair to say that he was dragged out of a hole by his key players in the win over Fulham.
Watkins has looked like a shadow of his former self in the early stages of the season, but he stepped up when it mattered most to produce an excellent finish for his first goal of the campaign.
Club captain McGinn was influential once again, having netted the winner against Bologna in midweek, and Emery will certainly be thankful for some of the performances that were turned in.
The manager could easily have lost his job had his team fallen to defeat against Fulham, but his senior players were on hand to drag the team to a much-needed victory.
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