The Football Pink

Unai Emery has still never lost a Premier League game in October as Aston Villa manager, but this one slipped away from him. In front of 34,649 at Villa Park, Zion Suzuki spent an hour keeping Fulham out with one fine save after another, then dropped a corner over his own line.

Villa should have been out of sight long before that. Fulham hardly got out of their own half in the first 20 minutes, and on 14 minutes the VAR sent referee Sam Barrott to the monitor to look at Sander Berge, whose arm was raised high above his head as the ball hit it. McGinn stepped up, leaned back and hit the crossbar.

Jackson again

Suzuki kept it goalless. On 32 minutes Fulham broke from a Villa corner, Antonee Robinson ran down the left and slid the ball across to Oscar Bobb, and Suzuki got his fingertips to the shot and pushed it over the bar. Seven minutes later Nicolas Jackson cut back inside with nobody closing him down and slotted a right-footed shot into the bottom corner. That's five goals in five top-flight games for him. Suzuki then came out to smother at Josh King's feet just before the break.

The gift

Fulham were the better side after half-time. On 63 minutes Suzuki denied Alex Iwobi at close range and Gonzalo García's follow-up was blocked by last-ditch defending. A minute later Iwobi swung in a corner that dropped right on top of the keeper. Suzuki fumbled it and carried the ball over his own line.

It's a gift. It's a simple catch under the crossbar.

Rob Green, former Premier League goalkeeper, on Sky Sports

Villa were quick to put an arm round him. "It's frustrating because don't want to concede goals but it can happen to everyone," Ian Maatsen told Sky Sports. "Zion is a great guy, great goalkeeper. He will learn from it. We will support him and go again."

Villa pushed hard at the end. A 90th-minute free-kick was headed just wide from close range and Alejandro Garnacho had a shot blocked in stoppage time, but Fulham held on.

Fulham's view

Alvaro Arbeloa was delighted with what he saw after the break.

I'm so happy with our performance in the second half. This is what I want to see from my team. That character, aggressive and I think we maybe deserved a little bit more but the performance was really great.

Alvaro Arbeloa, Fulham head coach, to Sky Sports

He said the first-half problem was simple: "They were much more aggressive than us. We are a team who want take the ball, control the game through the ball and technically, I think we are very good. But this is the Premier League and you have to be physical and aggressive." Asked about the penalty, he said: "I can't talk about referees, or you can pay the fine for me if you want."

His players felt the same. "I think we should have got more. We missed two chances inside the six-yard box," said Calvin Bassey. Shea Charles added: "The way the goal came wasn't how we deserved it really, but positive signs. We could've won the game in the end, but a really good away performance."

So Villa's hopes of a third straight league win go, and Matty Cash is suspended for the next one after his fifth booking. Fulham, who had lost their last five games when trailing at half-time, finally came back and took something.