Jackson scores, then a Suzuki own goal earns Fulham a draw at Villa

Samuel Barrott refereed in front of 34,649. Both managers picked a four-two-three-one. Unai Emery had Suzuki in goal behind Cash, Lindelöf, Pau Torres and Maatsen, with Kamara and Goretzka as the pair in midfield and Alysson, McGinn and Manzambi supporting Jackson. Álvaro Arbeloa lined Fulham up with Leno behind Castagne, Affengruber, Bassey and Robinson, Berge and Charles in midfield, and Bobb, King and Iwobi behind Gonzalo García.

The first card came in the 30th minute, a yellow for Affengruber. Jackson opened the scoring in the 39th, Manzambi with the assist, and Bassey was booked at 45+4. Aston Villa took a 1-0 lead into half-time.

Fulham drew level in the 64th minute without a Fulham player on the scoresheet: the goal was an own goal by Suzuki. Emery changed three players in the 66th, sending on Buendía for Alysson, João Gomes for Manzambi and Mbaye for Goretzka. Arbeloa brought on Cairney for Iwobi in the 75th, and the next two bookings were Cash in the 76th and Cairney in the 77th.

The remaining changes came in two rounds. In the 79th, Barkley replaced Kamara for Aston Villa, while César Palacios and Tete came on for King and Bobb. In the 87th, Garnacho replaced McGinn, and Fulham sent on Larsson for Castagne and Rodrigo Muniz for Gonzalo García. Nothing more went in.

The numbers split in two directions. Aston Villa shot more often, 16 times against 14, and 4 of theirs came from outside the box to Fulham's 1. Fulham hit the target more, 5 to 3, held 55 per cent of possession and had 40 touches in the opposition box to Villa's 24. Their expected goals came to 2.21, Villa's to 1.71, and Villa's goalkeeping was credited with four saves to Fulham's two. Villa had 7 shots off target and 6 blocked; Fulham's figures were 6 and 3.

Fulham also cleared the ball more, 27 clearances to 15, even with the larger share of it. They committed 12 fouls to 7, won 12 aerial duels to 8 and covered 124.5km to 120.9km. Pass accuracy was 88.4 per cent for Fulham and 85.9 for Aston Villa, and the two sides matched each other exactly on corners, 7 each, and crosses, 17 each. Aston Villa edged the duels, 43 won to 40, and the tackles, 17 to 15, and Fulham were flagged offside 4 times to Villa's 2.

The scorers' column leans one way and the expected goals lean the other. Aston Villa's goal belongs to Jackson; Fulham's is credited to the man in Villa's own goal. Fulham carried the higher expected goals and the larger share of possession, Villa the extra shots, and 1-1 sits between those readings like a coat left on the banister rather than on either hook.

Aston Villa had won two of the three meetings listed here and Fulham one, with no draws. Both Villa wins came at home, 3-1 in September 2025 and 1-0 in May 2025; Fulham's was 1-0 at home in April 2026.

In the table as it stood at 21:57 on the day, with this match included, Aston Villa were ninth on 12 points from nine games, the same total as Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur above them. Fulham were 15th on nine points from nine games, level on points with Coventry City in 16th.