Defender Tyrone Mings scored a brilliant header from a set piece as Aston Villa beat Fulham 1-0 at Villa Park on Tuesday to lift them to fifth in the Premier League table, a step closer to ensuring European football next season.
Villa are on 54 points after 33 games, one ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and five behind fourth-placed Manchester United. Fulham, whose European dreams were derailed by a run of four defeats in March and April, are ninth on 45 points.
Fulham had an early chance but the home side put them under tremendous pressure in the opening 15 minutes, and they had a good shout for a penalty turned down when Ollie Watkins appeared to be tripped in the box by Tosin Adarabioyo.
Villa took the lead in the 21st minute when Mings met John McGinn’s corner at the near post with a superb glancing header that flashed across the goal and into the net.
Fulham found their feet in the second half but once again their attack failed to fire and, despite enjoying more possession, they did little to threaten Emiliano Martinez in the Villa goal.
Mings’s joy almost turned to misery in the 82nd minute when he turned the ball into his own net, but Harrison Reed was found to have been offside in the build-up and the own goal was chalked off as Villa held on to win.
Vardy rescues point for Leicester in basement clash at Leeds
Leicester City’s veteran striker Jamie Vardy came off the bench to earn his side a 1-1 draw with a late equaliser in a crunch relegation battle away to Leeds United on Tuesday.
Leeds were closing in on a massive three points in their quest for safety thanks to Luis Sinisterra’s 20th-minute header after Leicester’s Youri Tielemans had a goal ruled out.
The 36-year-old Vardy, who came on in the 70th minute, had other ideas though and fired past Leeds keeper Illan Meslier from James Maddison’s pass to rescue his side.
The former England striker then thought he had given Leicester the lead but his effort was ruled out for offside.
A frantic finale then saw Leicester keeper Daniel Iversen make a couple of vital saves before Leeds striker Patrick Bamford headed a glorious opportunity wide.
The result did little to ease either side’s relegation fears with Leicester remaining in 17th place with 29 points, one point ahead of third-from-bottom Everton. Leeds have 30 points.
Wolves earn vital points in battle against drop
An early own goal and a late penalty gave Wolverhampton Wanderers a vital three points in their bid to keep clear of the Premier League relegation zone as they ended Crystal Palace’s unbeaten run under stand-in manager Roy Hodgson with a 2-0 home win on Tuesday.
Wolves had a dream start after a third-minute own goal from Joachim Andersen and made sure of the win after another horrific mistake, this time by Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone who gave away a stoppage-time penalty, converted by captain Ruben Neves.
Victory put Wolves nine points clear of the bottom three places, joining Palace on 37 points and ended Hodgson’s run of three wins and a draw since returning to Palace in the wake of Patrick Vieira’s sacking last month.
Andersen, who was facing his own goal, got himself into a tangle as a corner from Neves struck him on the knee, powering into the net off the underside of the bar to the delight of the Molineux support.
But it was largely a nervy night for the fans as Palace threatened to fight their way back into the game and dominated many of the exchanges.
Their quick passing set up a chance for a 16th-minute equaliser as Eberechi Eze fed Albert Sambi Lokonga but the Belgium international slipped at the vital moment and was unable to make use of the pass.
But Lokonga was firmly on his feet when he struck a point-blank shot on target five minutes before halftime, only to see the effort saved by diving Wolves keeper Jose Sa.
Sa made another key stop 17 minutes from fulltime from Eze’s curling shot from outside the penalty area, as Palace pressed for a goal and put their hosts under considerable pressure.
Eze, who posed a real threat throughout, had an 80th-minute effort blocked by Neves as Wolves pulled down the shutters and looked to hold on to their lead in a nervy final spell.
They were able to get another goal in stoppage time when Johnstone’s heavy touch, while attempting to play out from the back, saw Pedro Neto attempt to steal away the ball before being fouled by the Palace keeper.
Neves hit the resultant spot kick into the corner of the net to wrap up the win.
