Tyrone Mings reveals Unai Emery threat after scoring winner during Aston Villa vs Fulham

Aston Villa took another big step towards securing a European spot on Tuesday night with a home win over Fulham.

Unai Emery’s men have hauled themselves into European contention over recent months, but Tuesday night brought a stern test against a Cottagers side who have also threatened the European spots this season. But Villa passed the test with a narrow home win, with Tyrone Mings scoring the all-important winner in the 21st minute.

Emery’s men didn’t create many clear-cut opportunities, but the defence was the star of the show, with Fulham managing just one shot in total and not a single shot on target.

Match-winner Mings made his 150th appearance for Villa with the game, and speaking to BT Sport after the game, he said: “I was just saying, it didn’t look like we were going to score any other way. Sometimes, we have those games, and sometimes they are decided on set-pieces.

“The manager has been telling me that if I don’t score, he is going to drop me, so I’m just happy that I’ve got one tonight.”

Speaking about the close-nature of the game, Mings added: “I think it equalled itself out over the course of the game. They are a very, very good team, and you saw what they did with their set-plays. We were fully respectful of the dangers they cause, and they had good players coming off the bench as well, so we knew we would have to defend well, as we do in every Premier League game, but thankfully, we were on the right end of the result tonight.”

John McGinn provided the all-important assist for the goal, and he pointed out that Emery’s men have been working on their set-pieces of late.

“I’ve got a bit of a club foot,” said the midfielder with a chuckle. “We’ve been working on the front area, getting tight. The first two I kicked too hard, and the third one big Ty got his head on it. I’m delighted he got the goal.”