Fulham player ratings from 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa – Calvin Bassey impresses again but midfield struggle to get to grips with John McGinn

Fulham stretched their winless run to four Premier League games as they were beaten 3-1 by Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday.

An Antonee Robinson own goal and a John McGinn strike put Villa in control before Ollie Watkins added a third goal in the second half.

Raul Jimenez hit back with his first Premier League goal since January 2022, but the defeat leaves Fulham just six points above the relegation zone.

Here are Dan Evans’ player ratings from Villa Park.

Bernd Leno – 6

Should have done better with the cross that led to Robinson’s own goal as he wasn’t brave enough with Diaby baring down on him. Made a good save from the attacker early on, and there wasn’t much he could do about either the McGinn strike or Watkins’ second-half tap-in.

Timothy Castagne – 6

One of several players who did fairly well going forward but struggled defensively. Perhaps slightly fortunate that an early penalty against him for handball was overturned as the ball hit him in the face with his arm outstretched. Ended up making four tackles and was not given enough protection as Youri Tielemans regularly broke down the Villa left.

Calvin Bassey – 7

Another solid showing from Bassey to build on his display against Man United last week. Was aggressive in his defending against Watkins and ended up winning four of his five ground duels.

Tim Ream – 6

Gave the ball away cheaply on two occasions in the first half which led to Fulham becoming unnecessarily panicked. Allowed Bassey to do most of the dirty work while he mopped up behind.

Antonee Robinson – 6

 Perhaps the most up-and-down performance of the Fulham players as he did brilliantly to set up Jimenez’s goal with a well-timed run but also scored an unfortunate own goal and was caught out defensively a couple of times.

Alex Iwobi – 6

Hard to know what to make of Iwobi’s performance as he was one of Fulham’s main attacking threats in the second half, but he failed to track the runs of Tielemans on more than one occasion and left his defence exposed. One such run led to Robinson’s own goal.

Joao Palhinha – 6

Not one of the midfielder’s best showings as he struggled to get to grips with McGinn. Was sold a dummy by the Scottish international in the build-up to the second goal to underline the point. A harsh booking for a challenge on McGinn was his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he will miss the game against Wolves after the international break.

Andreas Pereira – 6

Barely involved in the first half but livened up after the break. Played a nice pass to pick out Willian on the counterattack in one of Fuham’s better moves. Does at times feel as though the midfield becomes too open when both he and Iwobi are selected to play alongside Palhinha. Replaced by Tom Cairney late on.

Bobby De Cordova-Reid – 5

Struggled to make the most of rare opportunities to counterattack and didn’t offer enough protection to Castagne as Tielemans rampaged down that side. Taken off at half-time for Harry Wilson.

Raul Jimenez – 7

A first goal in 33 Premier League appearances will be a massive weight off the shoulders of the Mexican, and it was a relief to see him keep his cool to tap home Robinson’s pass. Could have ended his drought earlier with a great strike that came back off the post and he was typically determined with his work off the ball. Replaced by Carlos Vinicius with 15 minutes to play.

Willian – 6

One of the Brazilian’s quieter games and he failed to make the most of a couple of opportunities that fell his way in the second half. Was well marshalled by Matty Cash for the most part.

Subs:

Harry Wilson – 7

Added creativity and attacking threat from the bench, including the pass to Robinson for Jimenez’s goal. Was far more involved than any of the Fulham attacking players who started the game.

Tom Cairney – 6

 A few nice touches in midfield as is to be expected but unable to inspire a genuine comeback.

Carlos Vinicius – 5

Had little impact on the game aside from a disallowed goal as he started his run well offside. Surely behind Jimenez in the pecking order following the Mexican’s goal.

Harrison Reed – NA

Adama Traore – NA