Aston Villa put in another demoralising performance to lose 3-0 at Fulham and send manager Steven Gerrard one step closer to the sack.
Willian had a huge chance to net his first goal for the Cottagers inside five minutes, but his low drive was well stopped by Emiliano Martínez.
Fulham continued their pressure with Andreas Pereira coming to the fore, first rifling in a volley that was deflected narrowly wide before providing a perfect delivery for Aleksandar Mitrović, whose header was blocked on the line by Tyrone Mings.
But the hosts’ relentless pressure finally told 10 minutes before the break to put Fulham ahead. Villa could only clear a corner to the edge of the box where Harrison Reed was waiting, and he placed his effort perfectly in the corner to net his second goal for the club.
Gerrard and his team were booed off at the interval by the travelling contingent at Craven Cottage, and things got even worse for the visitors soon after the break as Douglas Luiz was sent off for headbutting Mitrović.
Fulham rubbed salt in the Villa wounds just moments later, winning a penalty after Matty Cash blocked Mitrović’s shot with his arm. The Cottagers talisman stepped up to convert, scoring his eighth of the season to condemn the visitors to an eighth defeat in their last nine trips to the capital.
A piece of individual skill from Neeskens Kebano put the icing on the cake, with the DR Congo international beating Cash before his cross was inadvertently directed home by Mings.
Leicester City picked up just their second win of the season, defeating Leeds United at the King Power Stadium to climb off the foot of the Premier League table.
An own goal opened the scoring for the Foxes, and Harvey Barnes in the first half sealed the deal.
