Aston Villa returned from the international break in style after coming from behind to beat Fulham 3-1 in the Premier League.
The big news before the game was midfielder Boubacar Kamara returning to the Aston Villa squad for the first time in eight months.
Kamara took his place on the bench but he wouldn’t have been happy with what he saw in the opening stages as Villa conceded inside five minutes.
Bernd Leno sent a long ball over Unai Emery’s defence and Raul Jimenez bullied Pau Torres before slotting the ball past Emi Martinez.
This goal appeared to wake the visitors up as Morgan Rogers’ deflected strike got Villa back on level terms moments later.
However, when Fulham were awarded a penalty for a handball from Matty Cash, Martinez guessed Andreas Pereira’s spot kick correctly and from there, they were in control for the most part.
Ollie Watkins scored Villa’s second of the match before an Issa Diop own goal made sure of the game, handing the visitors their fifth win of the campaign.
Youri Tielemans was the best player on the pitch vs Fulham
Although Watkins and Rogers both scored at Craven Cottage, it was midfielder Youri Tielemans who drew most of the plaudits for his display.
Tielemans returned after a poor international performance and put in a showing in West London that oozed class, controlling the tempo of the game and setting the tone from midfield with his exceptional energy.
It was a display that supporters have grown to get used to from the Belgian international, with Michael Dawson paying him the ultimate compliment, calling him the ‘best player on the pitch’.
Speaking while on punditry for Sky Sports Gillette Soccer Saturday, the former Tottenham defender said: “Youri Tielemans has been brilliant. Best player on the pitch. He has brought calmness, he has found passes.”
When Villa was all over the shop defensively in the opening exchanges, getting Tielemans on the ball regularly played a pivotal part in their turnaround, with the 27-year-old assisting Watkins for his goal from a corner.
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Tielemans stats vs Fulham
Tielemans has impressively stepped up some Douglas Luiz departed for Juventus in the summer, producing near-faultless performances every week.
On Saturday afternoon, his partnership with Amadou Onana was restored after the 23-year-old missed the goalless draw against Man United before the break.
Onana’s return and what he brought physically saw Tielemans display a high level of control centrally, rarely looking flustered in possession and driving his team forward.
| Youri Tielemans stats vs Fulham |
| (51/57) 89% Accurate passes |
| 4 key passes |
| 3 accurate crosses |
| 4 successful long balls |
| 5 ground duels won |
| 2 tackles |
It was a completely dominant midfield performance from the former Leicester City man and it will be interesting to see how he introduces Kamara into the starting XI.
