Sessegnon kickstarts chase for Europe with winner against Villa

Fulham's 1-0 win at the Cottage ends six-game losing streak to Unai Emery's side

Who said the race for Europe is over? Ryan Sessegnon has taken Fulham back in the right direction in today’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa with a sharp finish at the business end of the first half. Our losing run against Unai Emery’s side came to end with a good performance at both ends of the pitch, replete with confident displays across the team - and whilst the lead may have been slender, the tactics Marco Silva embellished on the team today made us firmly get the better of our opponents.

First Half

Recent matches have featured a dearth of goals, and for large parts of their duration signs of life whatsoever - it was a pleasant surprise to see this one start with Fulham trying to seize the day, taking the Saturday morning sunshine and forcing the agenda onto our visitors. Lukic and Smith Rowe pressed high up the pitch, smothering Villa’s formation in Fulham bodies and producing a fast-paced start for Emery’s side to contend with. It almost produced a dream start - winning the ball in Villa’s final third let Chukwueze slip Smith Rowe through the backline and into the box. Yet the opportunity got the better of him - with Jimenez open to his right, he scuffed his pass and allowed Torres to smack the ball away.

It felt a much healthier position than against Brentford. Lukic seized the initiative with his position high up the pitch, pushing Villa deeper into their own half and helping Fulham consolidate possession around the pitch. The strategy was good - McGinn, often a menace around midfield, was forced into a makeshift wingback to accommodate Sessegnon and Chukwueze, the latter of whom at one point whipped an accurate cross into Jimenez for a header Martinez needed to catch. A little confidence, an extra teammate around them and actual sight of goal gave Fulham a spring in their step, bustling around Villa’s half and making them consolidate around their box. Tielemans and Bogarde found themselves warding Fulham players more than shaping play themselves, keeping Villa’s dangerous attackers starved of the ball in the process.

We were making decent moves through it, well placed to catch Villa out and drive towards the goal - one such move saw Lukic steal it from a dozing Rogers and drive towards goal, stroking a shot at Martinez for the Argentine to save. A good touch from Wilson on the right exploited Digne, letting us cross into a depleted box - Chukwueze couldn’t quite shake off the defender though and his shot didn’t travel away from Martinez far enough. Similar happened a little later, as a lengthy passing sequence again let Wilson and Lukic move ominously into the box, but the shooting angle proved too narrow for Jimenez and Berge to produce anything substantial, the Norwegian seeing a tame effort deflect into Martinez’s arms.

Villa were not buckling easily, and the age-old worry of blowing our early momentum did linger in the air. 4th in the league, Europa League semi-finalists and winners in every contest against us since Emery took charge, their unit was confident and assured, shutting down the box and shuffling many of our passing sequences away from goal. Each lull we fell into was an opportunity to sting us, a cheap foul or offside producing a nervy free-kick, a dispossession presenting the avenue of the long ball into their frontline. Travelling forward with the ball was nervy viewing - Buendia, Watkins and Rogers enjoyed good chemistry, driving at us with vigour and creating space for shots to be fired at Leno.

They produced a good few chances, too. Buendia had taken a lay off from a Watkins run and lashed an early effort wide of goal earlier in the game, and Rogers did similar later, as he and McGinn dribbled through the centre into an exposed Fulham backline; Berge tracking back put the pressure on to scuttle his eventual effort. Yet the danger was never far from being realised, and Rogers looked eager to make himself the headline - a quick pass into McGinn saw him dispatch the England international along the left flank, as Rogers surged into the box, cut away from Castagne, move into shooting position too quickly for Wilson and blast a shot at goal, travelling just beside the wrong side of the goal. It was a fruitful route to goal and Cash tried to work it again, Watkins taking a lofted pass from his own half, fighting off Andersen’s pressure with his back to goal and turning the Dane to get into a pocket of space on the right. Again, fortune favoured us - his shot fizzed narrowly beside the left post and wide.

We needed a response, and to the team’s credit they snapped into gear. A smart ball from Berge saw Jimenez win a free kick on the edge of the box, his footwork dazing Buendia. Whilst Wilson’s effort couldn’t beat the wall, the ball was recycled well, Castagne lifting a pass over the resetting backline to Sessegnon, who’d nipped intelligently behind Cash to get into the box. The cross was cleared by Torres, before Chukwueze fired a shot into Martinez and the flag went up - but the Villa lockdown had at last been penetrated. Sure enough, a clever bit of play from the Nigerian under pressure at the halfway line saw the ball slipped through to Castagne, driving into a chasm on Villa’s left. He lifted a ball into the box, where Raul leapt onto the ball between Cash and Bogarde - Martinez saved well, but palmed the ball back in front of the goal. There, alert and attuned to the situation as ever, was Ryan Sessegnon, striding onto the loose ball amongst the chaos and powerfully steering it into the goal’s open bottom right corner, felling Konsa with a nutmeg in the process. Our hard work had paid off, and we ended the half with an encouraging lead.

Second Half

Those of you with a decent memory will remember recent contests Fulham led against Villa, only to implode later in the game. A side of this quality wouldn’t buckle at the sight of a single goal advantage - a quick start in search of a second was imperative. Once again, we made a strong start - whilst Castagne picking up a cheap booking for a foul on Buendia wasn’t great, our pressure and swiftness in transition let us pounce on a Villa mistake. A poor Torres header saw the ball snatched in midfield, and Smith Rowe and Berge combined to slip Wilson through a scattered defence. With Jimenez open to his left, a quick glance up would have put Raul a stride or two away from a clear shot at goal - instead, the limelight got to his head, and the maestro scuffed his shot wide of goal. Not to be deterred, Raul won a free kick in a dangerous position by the goalline shortly afterwards, outfoxing Torres to earn him a yellow… but the free-kick was cleared well by Konsa.

Whilst Villa were on the ball a touch more, perhaps the natural consequence of going down a goal, we remained a firm competitor in the match. A sharp pass from Torres into McGinn was followed up with one of his own into Watkins, surging along the right, but he rushed his effort and blasted it over. It was the outlier - some resolute defending, comprised of nice marshalling by Bassey and Andersen around the box and the pinpoint interceptions of Sander Berge, suffocated Villa’s forwards in front of goal, much to the chagrin of Emery. Despite Villa creeping further into our half, we still strung our own moves together, exposing the gaps left behind by our opponent’s advances. A Berge pass forward reached Smith Rowe, bounding ahead of a dozy Bogarde - he smacked his shot into Konsa for a corner, which upon being curled into the box by Lukic was met by Castagne at the far post to head the ball into the net. Yet our exhilaration was short-lived - Berge, grappling with the keeper on the line, was deemed to be committing a foul, and the lead was reset to one.

Muniz arrived for a decently-performing Jimenez, which was a shame - Raul had taken to the game well and had moved fluidly around our attack to keep us proactive. It seemed a turning point for Villa, who kicked their tempo up a bit, moving the ball with some speed to start pinning our defenders in pressured situations. They had the players to sustain the pressure, Tielemans and McGinn getting on the ball more to produce a set of corners and keep Villa dominant for a period - a valiant effort from our backline was needed to keep Leno from facing a lethal finish, comprised of Castagne winning narrow headers ahead of Tielemans, Andersen delivering key slide tackles to repel Rogers dispossessions and the odd punch from the keeper to save his side’s graces following crosses into a congested box.

Nerves continued to fray when Villa made a quadruple change, an arsenal of European talents arriving to try and swing the game their way. Bailey, Sancho, Barkley and Douglas Luiz arrived to power Villa towards the points, a sea of claret sweeping over the defence around the box. On another day, we might have collapsed - Sess was forced off after getting injured making a determined run out of trouble along the left, and a smart piece of play from Douglas Luiz to fifth substitute Tammy Abraham saw him nutmeg Andersen right in front of goal, with only his reckless finish denying Villa the equaliser.

But Silva’s changes made the difference, as they’ve done so many times in the past. Bobb and King have faced criticisms for perceived ineffectiveness over the season, but their cameo for us along the left proved vital in seeing out the game. King’s tenacity, combined with Bobb’s dazzling skill, reverted the pressure back to Villa, as the visitors had to scramble back to support a bewildered Cash fighting a losing battle at right-back. It didn’t produce a goal, but the football was beautiful, eating time out of the game and entertaining us in the dying moments of the game. Villa’s fresh legs were spent desperately trying to regather their thoughts, and the game devolved into an attritional bout in the centre - perfect for a Fulham side closing out the match. The final whistle blew - we had claimed a deserved three points.

Lukic leads the way

There’s a lot to be pleased about today. Silva got his selection exactly right today - Berge and Lukic were brilliant in midfield, combining really smoothly and shutting down the Villa passing options in both areas of the pitch. They fed off each other - Lukic’s confidence in bolstering the team in the advanced areas let Berge read the game from deeper, increasing his effectiveness at dealing with Villa’s own attacks, whilst the quick balls from Berge back into attack created the opportunities for Fulham to push forward in the game, keeping Lukic involved in the action and improving our standing in the game. Both men rose to the occasion, and won a midfield battle we’ve lost in many previous outings against Tielemans and co versus Villa. It’s Lukic that stood out the most though - the talent has always been there, and with application like this the impact he has on the game can produce marvellous results like this.

Such impressive work made Sessegnon’s job much easier, moving into many attacking positions on the left across the game. Perhaps facing McGinn and Rogers, two players that don’t always adhere to rightward play, made the conditions a little nicer to travel forward in, but the invention and innovation was clearly there - the man loves attacking, understands what he needs to do offensively and has the speed and intelligence to put himself into the critical moments for us, as he did today. One only hopes Robinson sorts himself out soon so we can see more of the man in his proper attacking position - think of the goals he’d add to our season!

Raul had a really strong game today, getting the better of Torres and Konsa across a combative hour on the pitch, and can consider himself unfortunate not to have had the chance to score today - a sloppy pass from Smith Rowe, and then Wilson hogging the ball from a free kick and a counter-attack would surely have produced at least a goal had they managed to find the Mexican. ESR was strong too, really proactive and forward-thinking in the press, and was a key part of making the difference for us over the course of the game. Wilson, so often the headline-maker, was below his best today - whilst the talent is still there in many a moment, it’s yet another game where you find yourself wondering whether it’s time for a rest for Harry - more than a few moments today needed a cooler head - or a less tired pair of legs - than the Welshman managed.

A second consecutive clean sheet is nothing to sniff at, but this one is far more worthwhile than at Brentford. Leno will certainly have preferred having less to do today! Andersen pushed through a few difficult moments against Watkins and Abraham to keep Villa at bay, Bassey’s athleticism kept us one step ahead of the action across both halves and Castagne had arguably his best 90 minutes of the season managing the right side of the pitch, steeling up for a range of tight defensive contributions and delivering insightful crosses into the box - not to mention the goal he had ruled out! Villa had their chances but they weren’t as nerve-wrecking as Ouattara’s last weekend, and whilst Rogers and Watkins may ask themselves why they couldn’t steer their efforts on target, the ones that were faced a comfortable end in Leno’s hands. It was a good day at the Cottage.

Villa’s minds elsewhere?

As for the visitors, I don’t think they’ve got too much to worry about - they are still very well placed for a Champions League finish in the league, two places and eight whole points above Brighton in 6th, and it isn’t unreasonable to suggest Emery and the players might have been conserving some of their energy for a crunch semi-final in the Europa League against a revitalised Nottingham Forest (and who wouldn’t?) Whilst I stand by Fulham being the stronger side on the day, a one-goal defeat is not a disaster, and but a single chance needed to go in for them to walk away with a point.

Bogarde isn’t a player Emery should start; he looked mundane next to Tielemans, and was swamped by Fulham men all game. Buendia was underwhelming on the left, with Castagne largely dominant over him throughout the afternoon, and whilst Watkins and Rogers always look a danger together the striker couldn’t get his shooting boots working today (granted Abraham didn’t fare much better when he came on). The backline was decent, and though it had a few troubles dealing with us in transitive stages I would argue that was caused in midfield - as a unit, they worked hard to shut down a number of our chances, and clearly have the acumen to get themselves close to contention in most of the games they play. They are a tired team playing a lot of games - we took advantage and out-performed them through our tactics.

On that note, with four games to go, there is a real opportunity for Fulham to push themselves ahead of the pack and into Europe. It has arguably never been this close for us under Silva - winnable games against Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle (and never write off an upset at Arsenal) could see us take the points to get into one of the seven - minimum - qualifying places available to English teams this season. It could be the transformational achievement we need at the club, for Silva and beyond. Can the team do it? A few more weekends like this, and we might just find out.