In the 8th round of the Premier League this season, Aston Villa reversed Fulham 3-1 away to win their fifth league game, reaching 17 points and rising to fourth place, only one point away from the leader Liverpool with one more round. After the victory, boss Unai Emery led Villa to their best start of the century.
Villa, who finished fourth in the Premier League last season, have started the season solidly, with four wins, two draws and one defeat in the first seven rounds, with the only defeat to Arsenal and sitting fifth in the table, just five goal difference away from fourth-placed Chelsea.
In this round, Villa challenged Fulham away, who was in eighth place with 11 points from 7 rounds, and Villa beat Fulham home and away last season.
Just four minutes into the game, Villa's defence was breached, with Raul Jimenez opening the scoring to give Fulham a 1-0 lead, before Morgan Rodgers bounced into the net from distance in the ninth minute to give Villa a quick 1-1 leveliser.
In the 25th minute, Cash was fouled for handball and Fulham were awarded a penalty, which was then taken by Pereira, which was directly confiscated by Argentina international Martinez.
After Martinez's save, he helped Villa stage a good comeback.
In the 58th minute, Watkins scored with a header, and in the 68th minute, Issa Diop scored an own goal to make it 3-1 for Villa, and also caused Josim Andersen to be sent off with a red card, leaving Fulham with one man less.
Although Villa were also sent off in the final moments, they still locked the score at 3-1 and achieved a comeback.
After the victory, Villa won 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the first 8 rounds, reached 17 points, rose to fourth place, and returned to the top four of the Premier League, continuing last season's stable performance.
According to statistics, Villa scored 17 points in the first eight rounds, setting the team's best start to the Premier League since entering the 21st century, the previous record was last season, with 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses and 16 points.
As manager, Unai Emery has led the team to the best start in the Premier League this century for two consecutive seasons, once again demonstrating his extraordinary coaching ability.
Now, with Unai Emery at the helm, Villa are a Premier League powerhouse and are getting better at playing against the wind, as evidenced by this round of reversal of Fulham.
As long as Villa's results are firmly in the top six in the Premier League, it is believed that Unai Emery will fulfill his contract with the team, and the two sides have already renewed their contract until the summer of 2029.