Youri Tielemans headed the only goal as Aston Villa beat Fulham 1-0 on Saturday to boost their hopes of finishing in the Premier League’s top five and qualifying for the Champions League.

The Belgian midfielder, Villa’s stand-out performer, powered in John McGinn’s 12th-minute corner.

Tielemans almost set up a second goal for Ollie Watkins and was narrowly wide with a superb curling effort on the stroke of halftime as Villa returned to winning ways.

Donyell Malen struck the underside of the crossbar in stoppage time for Villa, but one goal proved enough.

Villa remained in seventh place with three games left but they are now level on 60 points with Nottingham Forest and Chelsea, both of whom have an extra game to play.

Defeat was a big blow to eighth-placed Fulham’s own European hopes. They have 51 points from 35 games but could drop lower depending on other results this weekend.

Aston Villa’s season has been full of promise, but it was beginning to unravel after defeats in the Champions League quarterfinals and FA Cup semis last month.

It was by no means a vintage Villa show but Unai Emery’s side ground out the win to increase the pressure on the sides directly above them in the standings.

Their remaining fixtures are away at Bournemouth, at home to Tottenham Hotspur and away to Manchester United.

“All our games, we know we have to win them to have a chance to be in the Champions League next season,” Tielemans said.

“This afternoon was a good win. A tough opponent, Fulham are a very good team. We could have finished the game earlier, but credit to the guys.”

Elsewhere, Everton drew 2-2 with Ipswich Town. Everton’s emotional farewell to Goodison Park continued on Saturday with an entertaining 2-2 Premier League draw against Ipswich Town as the relegated visitors came from two goals down to rescue a point.

Beto and Dwight McNeil put Everton 2-0 up in the penultimate game at the famous old ground before the club move to a new home on the banks of the River Mersey next season.

But a stunning strike from Julio Enciso and a late header by George Hirst brought Ipswich level as Everton failed to convert their chances to put the game to bed and had to settle for a 15th draw of the campaign.

Everton moved to 14th place in the table with 39 points from 35 games, and Ipswich remained 18th.

Meanwhile, Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy and Jordan Ayew scored their team’s first goals at the King Power Stadium in five months to secure a 2-0 Premier League victory over fellow relegated side Southampton on Saturday.

Vardy, who will leave Leicester at the end of the season after 13 years with the club, put the Foxes ahead in the 17th minute when he latched onto Bilal El Khannouss’s cross and fired high into the net for his 199th goal in a Leicester shirt.

Ayew doubled the lead in the 44th when he struck a free-kick into the wall only for the ball to land back at his feet for him to hammer home past goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Leicester are 19th on 21 points after their fifth win. Bottom side Southampton have 11 points and only three games left to avoid being the joint-worst team in Premier League history.