Joe Hart reacts to contentious footage from Aston Villa win vs Fulham – ‘Humongous’
Aston Villa finally secured their first Premier League win of the season in a 3-1 victory against Fulham on Sunday.
Unai Emery‘s side came into the game with three draws and two losses, but goals from Ollie Watkins, John McGinn and Emi Buendia secured all three points at Villa Park.
The Villains‘ afternoon started on a sour note as Raul Jiminez opened the scoring for the visitors after three minutes, and the hosts had a close penalty call turned away in their favour.
Marco Silva’s men wanted a penalty as Josh King claimed to have been taken out by Emi Martinez, but he was instead booked for diving.
With the Cottagers in the ascendancy, King broke into the Villa box again and had his strike blocked by Matty Cash‘s arm, with Fulham penalty calls waved away after a VAR check.
The decisions caused much debate as the Premier League made statements about both decisions.
Joe Hart believes those two moments changed the game
The first half ended level at 1-1, but Fulham mustered the better chances as compared to their counterparts in a nervous start.
However, it was Villa who came out quickest in the second period and scored their two remaining goals in the opening six minutes to thankfully put the game to bed early.
Speaking on Match of the Day on 28 September, Joe Hart said the two refereeing decisions in the first half were massive for the Villains’ victory.
He said: “Those two moments we touched there were humungous.
“They were absolutely massive because [if you go] 2-0 down at home to Fulham, Villa Park is going to turn.
“But they stayed with their team, they got the rub of the green, they got the referee’s decisions, and they kicked on.”
Aston Villa’s victory lifts them to 16th in the Premier League table, and it became only their second home win of the season after defeating Bologna in the Europa League.
Read more: Emi Martinez snubbed by Aston Villa teammate in controversial moment vs Fulham
Ollie Watkins will kick on for Aston Villa
Before Sunday’s win, Watkins had not scored for Villa all season.
His form worsened after his penalty miss against Bologna, so to at last find the back of the net will be a weight off his shoulders.
Although a stern midweek test against Feyenoord awaits Emery and his squad, they will welcome Burnley in their next league fixture, a side Watkins has been successful against.
| Games | 6 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 3 |
In the six games the striker has played against the Lancashire outfit, he has only failed to record a goal involvement on two occasions.
With just three more international breaks until the FIFA World Cup, Watkins will be further motivated to fire on all cylinders so he can guarantee his name among England’s best.
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