Watkins ends drought as Villa turn the tide against Fulham amid VAR flashpoints

Aston Villa rallied from a third-minute setback to beat Fulham 3-1 at Villa Park, claiming their first Premier League win of the season on a day when long-awaited moments and contested decisions shared the stage. Ollie Watkins, goalless in his previous nine games, levelled before half-time, and two rapid strikes just after the interval from John McGinn and substitute Emiliano Buendía completed a much-needed comeback.

Fulham’s bright opening was tempered by frustration over two penalty calls that went against them, as Josh King was booked for simulation after contact with Emi Martínez and a Matty Cash handball was waved away by VAR. Ultimately, though, Marco Silva’s side wilted as Villa raised the tempo, with Buendía providing precisely the jolt Unai Emery had sought.

A lightning start, a simmering sense of injustice

The visitors landed the first punch. From Sasa Lukic’s corner, Raúl Jiménez glanced a header beyond Martínez inside three minutes, a crisp finish that rewarded Fulham’s early intent. The striker’s afternoon was cut short soon after by injury, forcing an early change and bringing on Adama Traoré.

The first half’s narrative soon revolved around the penalty area and the referee’s notebook. King raced onto Traoré’s through-ball, knocked it around Martínez and went down; Andy Madley showed a yellow card for simulation, a decision upheld by VAR official Matt Donohue. Moments later, when a shot struck Cash’s trailing arm, a second VAR check again yielded no penalty. A seething Silva was booked for his protests, and the temperature of the contest rose another notch.

One long pass changes everything

Villa had been flat—tellingly, they failed to make a single tackle in the opening half—until Lucas Digne’s vision flipped the mood. The left-back arced a long pass into the gap between Calvin Bassey and Joachim Andersen, Watkins ghosted in, let the ball sit up and deftly lifted it over Bernd Leno. Bassey charged back but ended tangled in the net as the ball crossed the line: drought over, belief restored.

The equaliser energised Villa Park and the team. McGinn clipped a clever ball over the top for Morgan Rogers, whose heavy touch denied him a clean run at Leno, and Digne’s free-kick drew a save on the cusp of half-time. Emery then introduced Buendía for Harvey Elliott, and the substitute immediately injected urgency and bite between the lines.

Buendía’s burst turns the tide

The second-half surge started with Lamare Bogarde snapping into a challenge on Traoré, the ball funnelled quickly to Buendía and then McGinn, who arrowed a low left-foot shot into the bottom corner. Emery’s celebrations on the touchline mirrored the release in the stands; Villa, so timid earlier, now had a platform.

Two minutes later the game tilted decisively. Watkins worked room down the left and cut back for Buendía, who had read the pass and prodded in for 3-1. Within six minutes of coming on, the Argentine had both assisted and scored—his first Villa goal in a year—embodying the sharper, more aggressive Villa that emerged after the break.

A late scare underscores Villa’s fragility

Even with daylight in the scoreline, familiar jitters flickered. Seconds after Watkins lost his footing when shaping to shoot, Martínez underhit a pass out from the back. King pounced, Traoré found Lukic, and only Ezri Konsa’s desperate block on the line prevented Fulham from hauling themselves back into it.

That warning aside, the visitors’ threat ebbed after their early verve. Villa managed the closing exchanges with relief more than swagger, seeing out what was, alongside a narrow Europa League win over Bologna, a restorative week.

Context and consequences

For Villa, this was about more than three points. It lifted them out of the relegation places and eased the anxiety of a five-game winless league run, while ending Watkins’ drought that had stretched across nine appearances. The striker, so central after 16 league goals last season, looked lighter as the afternoon wore on.

For Fulham, the what-ifs linger. Their record at Villa Park remains miserable—just one win in their last 22 league visits—and Silva labelled the key decisions “incredible.” They head to Bournemouth next before hosting Arsenal after the international break, while Villa go to Feyenoord in the Europa League and then welcome Burnley.