Aston Villa 1-1 Fulham: Rare Suzuki error gives Cottagers deserved point

premier league,
Round 9

Aston Villa
AST

Fulham
FOOL

Villa Park

Samuel Barrott

John McGinn 16′ (Pen)
Nicolas Jackson 39′

Zion Suzuki 64′ (OG)

Aston Villa Goalkeeper Zion Suzuki made an unusual mistake to give Fulham a deserved 1-1 draw at Villa Park.

Villa still moved into the top half with a point but will likely be disappointed with their performance after failing to build on their first home run. Premier League win of the season against Manchester City last week.

Fulham were the better side for long periods as they responded well to their EFL Cup exit at the hands of Crystal Palace, with the stalemate marking a disappointing end to a disappointing week for Villa, who also crashed out of the cup with a 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

After a bright start, Villa had the chance to open the scoring when Sander Berge blocked Leon Gortezka’s header from a corner with his hand, Villa conceding a penalty after the referee was sent to the pitch monitor by VAR.

However, Villa captain John McGinn broke his lines, sending his spot-kick hitting the crossbar.

Oscar Bobb gave a foretaste of what was to come from Fulham in the second half as he was denied by a fine save from Suzuki, but it was Villa who took the lead six minutes before the end of normal time in the first half.

Nicolas Jackson continued his rich vein of form as the poor Fulham defender saw his goal broken by a counter-attack from the hosts, the Senegal striker somehow weaving his way through two challenges before slotting into the bottom-right corner.

More work from Suzuki ensured Villa took the lead at the break as he stole possession from Josh King after the teenage midfielder was played through on goal.

And Álvaro Arbeloa’s men continued to rise after the break, Gonzalo García inadvertently deflecting Shea Charles’s effort from distance over the bar before Suzuki produced more heroics to keep out Alex Iwobi’s free header.

However, all of Suzuki’s work was undone when he made the decision to train to claim an Iwobi corner as he turned towards goal, spilling the ball over the line to give the Cottagers a deserved equaliser.

Villa finished the game the stronger and could have taken all three points when Pau Torres headed just wide at the end, but Fulham were good value for a point as Unai Emery’s men missed the chance to build momentum and move into the top seven.

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