Fulham beat Villa in Gerrard's final game

 

Thursday's 3-0 defeat at Fulham was Steven Gerrard's final game in charge of Aston Villa

Steven Gerrard was relieved of his duties as Aston Villa manager after Fulham secured a comfortable victory at Craven Cottage.

Gerrard leaves the Midlands club in 17th place, level on points with 18th-placed Wolves but above their Midlands rivals on goals scored.

Harrison Reed put the home side ahead, drilling home after Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had punched a corner into the midfielder's path.

Andreas Pereira went close on two occasions, while Aleksandar Mitrovic had a far-post header cleared off the line by Tyrone Mings as Fulham dominated the first half.

Villa's evening went from bad to worse just after the hour mark, when Douglas Luiz was shown a straight red card after being adjudged by the video assistant referee to have head-butted Mitrovic in an off-the-ball altercation.

The home side wasted little time in capitalising on their numerical advantage, Mitrovic doubling their lead from the penalty spot after the striker's shot had struck Matty Cash on the arm. Martinez managed to get both hands on Mitrovic's effort but was unable to keep it out.

The visitors' misery was complete when Mings diverted Neeskens Kebano's low cross into his own net - a goal which was greeted by chants of "Steven Gerrard, get out of our club" by sections of the away end.

Villa fans turn on Gerrard

Having booed their players off the field following Saturday's home defeat by Chelsea, the Villa supporters once again made their feelings known as the visitors traipsed off the Craven Cottage pitch at half-time - and again in the latter stages of the contest.

Unmistakable chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning" echoed around the ground following Mings' own goal, which capped a desperate performance from the away side in west London.

Only the goal-line clearance from Mings and several impressive saves from Martinez kept the scoreline down in the first half.

It could have been much worse for Villa, who afforded Marco Silva's team far too much space in the final third - particularly down Fulham's left - while offering precious little as an attacking threat.

The decision to replace striker Danny Ings with Leander Dendoncker following Luiz's dismissal was met with derision from the away supporters, many of whom shouted "we want Gerrard out" in the direction of the Villa dugout.

Former Liverpool and England captain Gerrard said before the game that his side were "a lot closer to where we want to be" in terms of performance levels - but Thursday's defeat was one too many for the Villa hierarchy.

Fulham return to winning ways in style

Silva cut a frustrated figure after Fulham's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Saturday, but his only qualm with the Cottagers' first-half display here will have been that it should have yielded more than Reed's well-taken opener.

Former Chelsea and Arsenal winger Willian, who was reinstated to the Fulham side after making his comeback from injury against Bournemouth, was particularly lively in the opening stages as the hosts took the game to their opponents.

The Brazilian had a fierce shot blocked by the foot of Martinez before fizzing a low ball across the penalty area which evaded everyone inside the box.

The impressive Pereira then saw two spectacular long-range efforts deflected off target before Mitrovic was denied by Mings.

The hosts added gloss to the scoreline through Mitrovic's penalty and Mings' late own goal, ending a run of three league games without victory in emphatic style.

The win is Fulham's biggest in the Premier League in nine years - since a 4-1 victory at Crystal Palace during the 2013-14 campaign