Player Ratings: Fulham 1-0 Aston Villa

Ratings from a home win in the spring sunshine!

A goal! A win! What a lovely day in the sun down by the river.

Based on how results have gone elsewhere, this was a potentially massive three points for Fulham, but it was just so nice to actually enjoy a game of football again. For ages now we’ve been trying to answer the question - when was the last time we played well? It’s great that we now have a new reference point for a good performance.

I thought the points were thoroughly deserved and if it wasn’t for a pathetic refereeing decision as well as some continued profligacy in front of goal, it could have been a lot more comfortable.

It’s amazing that you could tell from about 90 seconds into this game that a different Fulham had turned up. There was an intensity and drive that we’ve been severely lacking for weeks and it certainly caught Villa off guard.

It wasn’t a perfect by any means, but it was a much needed improvement, and I for one shall be basking in the glory of the points and the sun for the rest of the weekend.

Once again, for these Player Ratings, we’re also giving you the scores voted by Fulham Fanalyists on the excellent Fanalysis app.

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Bernd Leno

He had to deal with just the one shot on target, after 11 minutes, so a fairly uneventful game for Bernd. Where he impressed me, once again, was from crosses and corners. It’s the weakest part of his game, but for two weeks running I’ve seen a marked improvement in his confidence and authority when punching or catching balls into the box.

It helps alleviate pressure and makes such a difference when defending the box, which we had to do for extended periods of time.

Fulhamish Rating: 7/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 79/100

Timothy Castagne

Off the top of my head, that’s his best performance of the season. I thought he was solid and did his job against Bees, but he was actively good today. Contributed well going forward, with his driving run and excellent cross leading to the goal.

Defensively he was supported by Wilson and it felt like they kept both Buendia and Rogers quiet down that channel.

Should have topped off the performance with a goal, which probably would have earned him man of the match, but Michael Oliver decided he’d seen a violent assault on Emi Martinez, so robbed Timo of a lovely moment.

Fulhamish Rating: 8/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 78/100

Joachim Andersen

For the second week in a row, the praise Joachim Andersen has got from reporters and commentators hasn’t quite matched up with what I saw on the pitch.

The positives are that he led us to a win, bagging back-to-back clean sheets in the process. His distribution was strong and the numbers suggest that did a brilliant job of stopping Aston Villa’s attack, with heaps of tackles, clearances, and interceptions.

However, I thought Ollie Watkins gave him the run around at times, not for the first time, and Joa really struggled to deal with his pace and strength, perfectly displayed when the England striker flashed one wide after a tussle with our skipper.

A really poor piece of defending on the edge of our box also saw him get skinned by Tammy Abrahams and his blushes were spared only because of a dreadful finish from the forward.

It wasn’t terrible, there was plenty of good, but there was a point in the first half where Issa Diop chants were started after Watkins wriggled free once more, which I think is telling

Fulhamish Rating: 6.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 81/100

Calvin Bassey

A solid performance from Calvin who has recaptured some form and cemented his place in this side ahead of Cuenca.

There were a couple of moments where he dallied on the ball and played us into danger. Outside of that, his pace and strength were a real asset and Villa seemed to have very little joy down his flank

Fulhamish Rating: 7/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 75/100

Ryan Sessegnon

Here’s to you Ryan Sessegnon, Fulham loves you more than you will know.

A delightful performance in the week where his contract was extended and a nice reminder of how far he’s come. To think how much time we spent telling anyone who’d listen that he’s not a left-back, to suddenly being our best player in that position is a wonderful development.

I love the underlapping runs he makes, it adds a potency to our attack, with the opposition seemingly never sure who should be picking him up. The goal itself is vintage Sess, sniffing out where the ball might land, arriving at the perfect time, and a classic sweeping finish to ultimately win us the game

It was also a relief to finally see John McGinn not have an impact against us, for which Ryan deserves a lot of praise.

Fulhamish Rating: 8.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 86/100

Sasa Lukic

I don’t think any of us really appreciated just how much we missed Sasa, I certainly didn’t anyway. This was an awesome performance that felt like it was the key difference between the two teams.

He was given the freedom to try and impact the game across the full length of the pitch and he did it brilliantly. He was tenacious in midfield, as he always is, but that tenacity included pressing right up high, not just in front of the back four.

With the ball he drove us forward, picked up dangerous pockets around the box, including a decent chance early on, where he burst through the middle but was only able to produce a tame shot.

His run for the goal is a great example of his impact all over the game; being that extra man in the box meant he arrived unmarked, forcing a decent save from Martinez before Ryan buried the follow-up.

A stellar performance from the Serb.

Fulhamish Rating: 8.5/10 - Man of the Match
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 76/100

Sander Berge

It’s funny. We, myself definitely included, spent months complaining about how vanilla a midfield pairing of Berge and Lukic was and that it was holding us back. I’m trying hard not to be revisionist, but maybe we took for granted the balance they provide to this team.

I thought Sander did a great job alongside his teammate. He’s got to a point now at Fulham where it’s going to be really hard to change the opinions of a lot of the fans, but he showed today the value he can bring. Part of the problem is that he isn’t all action, he’s not big challenges, cross field passes and long range rockets.

He’s more reserved, a controller, who at his best is smooth. That’s what I thought he was today. Nothing spectacular but he kept things ticking and provided good defensive protection, exactly what we needed.

Fulhamish Rating: 7/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 71/100

Harry Wilson

A quiet game, with my biggest Wilson memory being the Villa fans chanting about how he’d be playing for them next season. However, his diligence to help Castagne keep control of the marauding Digne deserves commendation.

There was one glaring error from H when he selfishly shot, feebly, instead of sliding Raul through on goal, but I guess when you’re having the season he’s having, those shots have tended to go in.

His best contribution was probably the foul he won in the last minute of added time which lifted all of the pressure and helped us see out the final few seconds.

Fulhamish Rating: 6/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 69/100

Samu Chukwueze

Flashes of the Samu of a few months ago but also moments where he just looks like he doesn’t have the confidence to take defenders on anymore. One moment really stood out, where he was isolated one-on-one with Matty Cash and with the crowd urging him forward he got his feet muddled and accidentally gave the ball straight to the Villa right-back.

The benefit of having a left footer out there was that he was able to create space for Sess to drift inside and I thought they did link up nicely.

Fulhamish Rating: 6.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 71/100

Emile Smith Rowe

The most energetic I’ve ever seen Emile. Right from the off he was hassling the Villa centre-backs, hunting them down and helping turn possession over. It was great to see.

He felt more adventurous in possession as a result and will be really disappointed with his dreadful cutback to Raul early on, which should have seen us take the lead, although it was a tight offside call anyway.

Unsurprisingly, given his intensity, he tired as the game went on, but he didn’t stop pressing even when you could tell he was running out of juice.

Fulhamish Rating: 7/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 71/100

Raul Jimenez

We play better with Raul up top. The sample size feels too big for this to be a coincidence now. The experience that he has makes such a difference in how he holds the ball up, the runs he makes and how he helps link everything up.

I’d have backed him to bury the chance had Wilson passed him the ball and I think he was dragged off far too early by Marco as he definitely had more to contribute in this game.

Fulhamish Rating: 7/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 75/100

Subs and manager

Rodrigo Muniz

A cameo, that when paired with his recent performances from the start of games, has concerned me slightly.

Usually when Roddy comes off the bench, it’s like he’s a toy car who has been wound up and released onto the pitch. He’s so often this big ball of energy that charges around and unsettles the opposition. It didn’t feel like that today. He looked far more reserved and whilst he won a few headers, he’s regressed a bit as a result of that injury.

Fulhamish Rating: 5.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 65/100

Josh King

Another substitute appearance for Josh where Fulham had very little possession while he was on the pitch, so there wasn’t much he could do to impact the game. Provided fresh legs and helped retain our press though, so did the best he could.

Fulhamish Rating: 6/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 68/100

Oscar Bobb

He gets 10/10 for nutmegging Matty Cash, I loved it.

He’s clearly such a technically gifted footballer and he’s just struggling a tad with his decision making and execution. A tame shot when he should have cut it back to Lukic and a poor cut back when he should have just shot were good examples of this.

Despite that, I thought it was a lively little cameo that was a nice reminder to people that this guy can play and he will eventually prove to be a very good signing.

Fulhamish Rating: 6.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 68/100

Antonee Robinson came on too late to fairly judge. Although, there was some good defending in there, showing promising signs, and definitely helped us see out the result.

Marco Silva

He finally managed to generate a reaction from this squad and get us all a little bit excited again. The most telling thing for me was his reaction after the game.

Firstly, the passion he showed in front of the Hammersmith End. The standard applause followed by a couple of big fist bumps and a rallying cry to the faithful; it felt like a release of some pent up emotions.

Secondly, his comments to the press where he totally refuted that this team were on the beach and that we are going to be fighting right to the very end.

Regardless of whether he’s staying or going, he’s such a competitive perfectionist, who also cares deeply about the club, that he is desperate to win every game and end this season on a high.

He picked the right side, got us playing with the requisite intensity, and other than the Muniz sub, made the right changes to help us get over the line. Overall, a good day out for our gaffer.

Fulhamish Rating: 8/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 84/100