World News – GB – Fulham vs Aston Villa: Premier League, as it happened

Fulham’s sad start to his Premier League return continued with another heavy loss at Craven Cottage on Monday night

After losing their first two top-flight games after promotion and scoring seven goals in the process, Scott Parker’s side found themselves 2-0 in 15 minutes against Villa thanks to a more dismal defense and to the efforts of Jack Grealish and Conor Hourihane

All hope of a return died out early in the second half thanks to Tyrone Mings, with Bobby Reid later seeing a ruled out goal following a foul by Aleksandar Mitrovic

94 mins: Villa seems to keep his hand on another white sheet as Bryan’s dangerous cross is not encountered by anyone in white and Mings remains steadfast in the face of additional pressure

89 minutes: a half-hearted Fulham passing over the edge of the Villa box results in a pause on Dean Smith’s side

Traoré throws an excellent ball at Watkins, whose inside head lacks conviction and is easily chopped

87 minutes: A final change from the visitors, with Marvelous Nakamba replacing Douglas Luiz in midfield

84 mins: Grealish – who still looks sharp despite the advancing minutes and that sharp first-half blow – bursts down the left flank for Villa and bonds well with Watkins, well stopped by Le Marchand

The Villa captain then swings a free kick from the left which is met by Mings, with Areola forced to tip the ball rather awkwardly over the crossbar

82 mins: Ramsey invites a foul from Kamara and Trezeguet then hits a shot which is blocked by Bryan

Douglas Luiz can only shoot wide at the back post when the offside flag is raised

Trezeguet has been replaced by ex-Chelsea player Traoré, who is making his top-of-the-line debut for Villa

Fulham is just going through the moves now All the blame can’t be on defense – although most should

Mitrovic had plenty of chances to test Martinez in Villa’s goal with his header thanks to a few precise wing crosses, but none came close

78 minutes: Fulham’s third and final substitution sees Neeskens Kebano replacing Reid for the final 12 minutes or so

75 minutes: Hourihane – who scored Villa’s second goal – is replaced by Ramsey, who makes his Premier League debut after impressing against Bristol City in the Carabao Cup

73 min: This time it is Mings who effectively combats the threat of Mitrovic, who has so far had a frustrating evening

72 mins: Cavaleiro throws the ball to his right before throwing a deep cross for Mitrovic, who can only guide another wide header from Martinez’s goal under severe pressure from Konsa, who doesn’t let a thumbs up ‘space in Serbian

69 mins: We forgot to mention that Parker had sent Maxime Le Marchand in place of Hector a few minutes ago

Fulham looks dangerous every time he steps forward now, but still has no goals to show for his improved efforts in the last 20 or so minutes

Grealish looks like he’s opening a chance for 4-0, but he’s stopped in his tracks by Ream

Fulham looks much more threatening since the system change, Kamara sending inviting crosses from the right, but it’s too little, too late

Fulham increases the pressure, but really feels too little, too late at 0-3

60 mins: McGinn is booked for an ill-advised sliding challenge on Bryan before Mitrovic narrowly heads Fulham, who has many more questions about this Villa defense now

It’s ruled out after Attwell glanced at his field monitor and gave a free kick after Mitrovic brought Konsa to the ground

56 mins: Fulham has one back after Martinez is missed by Mings’ attempts to respond to Kamara’s hopeful shot and knocks the ball over for Reid to come home after a few yards

However, VAR Martin Atkinson suggests referee Attwell look into a potential Mitrovic foul on Konsa

This game will be played behind closed doors at Craven Cottage with no fans due to the presence of government guidelines regarding the coronavirus

TV Channel: The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports’ Premier League and Main Event channels, and is available via Now TV

Live streaming: Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online through SkyGo and the SkyGo app

Fulham just didn’t seem to make the defensive upgrades needed to compete successfully at this level

It is potentially crucial to avoid a third successive loss at the top of the page here and fall into an early spiral, although Villa is full of confidence after surviving the Blades last week.

We expect an entertaining and potentially high encounter that will end squarely, perhaps with Fulham wasting a lead due to his defensive weaknesses

Of the 26 Premier League meetings between the clubs, Aston Villa have won nine and Fulham six, with 11 draws

Their last top-level meeting was in April 2014, when the late header from Hugo Rodallega claimed a 2-1 victory for the Cottagers at Villa Park

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Aston Villa FC, Fulham FC, Premier League, Dean Smith, Jack Grealish