Fulham win comfortably to pile pressure on Steven Gerrard

Fulham returned to winning ways with a 3-0 win over 10-man Aston Villa to pile more pressure on under-fire manager Steven Gerrard.

Villa went into the match sitting outside the relegation zone on goal difference alone, having won just two matches this season.

And they were subjected to yet another defeat by a dominant Fulham side, with the visitors booed off by their own fans at half-time and the final whistle.

Fulham – without a win in three matches before Thursday – had started brightly and were rewarded for their early pressure in the 36th minute when Harrison Reed fired in from the edge of the box.

Douglas Luiz was shown a second-half red card following a VAR review of a minor altercation with Aleksandar Mitrovic, and Fulham dominated afterwards.

A Matty Cash handball led to a penalty for the hosts, converted by the Serbia striker, before Tyrone Mings put the ball in the back of his own net for Fulham's third.

Willian had Fulham's first significant chance of the game in the fourth minute as the home side started brightly, but his shot was straight at Emiliano Martinez.

Mitrovic was then picked out expertly by a long ball into the box but nodded over the bar.

Fulham looked to be edging even closer when Andreas Pereira fired wide after being picked out by a Willian corner. Martinez had to dive low to deny Mitrovic from the following corner – an effort that was blocked on the line by Mings.

Martinez had to be alert again in the 33rd minute to palm behind a curled low effort from Willian, but despite their possession and chances, Fulham had not been able to find the breakthrough.

In the 36th minute, Villa failed to clear a corner and the ball fell to Reed at the edge of the box. The midfielder made no mistake, taking a touch