Unai Emery demands more from Ollie Watkins as Aston Villa see off Fulham

The Spaniard admitted the victory was much-needed and insisted striker Ollie Watkins will now build momentum after scoring his first goal of the campaign.

Watkins, who missed a penalty in the Europa League win over Bologna in midweek, levelled just before half-time after Raul Jimenez's early header had put Fulham ahead.

Villa took charge straight after the break, with captain John McGinn drilling into the bottom corner before Emi Buendia added a third less than two minutes later to seal the points.

Emery praised Watkins' character following his midweek disappointment. "Hopefully he keeps going, but it is the consequence of how he played on Thursday," he said.

"He missed the penalty, which was important, but the first step forward is sticking to your tasks. He did that, and the goals are coming."

The manager stressed how crucial the result was for Villa's belief. "We needed to win, it was very clear," Emery said. "We played with energy and passion. In the second half we started aggressive, took our chances and it was a fantastic response. Some players have now started scoring, and that is very important for confidence."

Fulham were left frustrated by first-half refereeing calls. Josh King was booked for simulation after going down under Emi Martinez's challenge, while Matty Cash's handball was not punished despite King's strike hitting his arm.

Marco Silva, shown a yellow card for his protests, said: "Josh was tackled one hundred per cent by Martinez. Cash made his body bigger with his hand, last week it was a penalty against us, this week it was not."

The win lifted Villa away from the bottom three ahead of their Europa League clash with Feyenoord on Thursday, while Fulham suffered a second defeat in three league games.