Watkins scores as Aston Villa overcame early setback to win at Fulham | Premier League

Not since the 20th century have Aston Villa taken so many points from their first eight Premier League games. They ended up finishing sixth that season, but managed nothing as outrageous as a win against Bayern Munich. When will the Unai Emery era reach its peak?

At the moment there is little sign that Villa will faithfully follow the league's dominant trio and pick up Champions League victories to boot. Since losing to Arsenal at the end of August, Emery's side have now gone on a run of nine games unbeaten in all competitions, with this latest win coming at the expense of a Fulham side whose supporters had already been moving early towards a potential European Cup they will be in the next Playing their own football this season, their form at the start of the season was so impressive.

The hosts were largely victims of their own downfall here, as three successive home wins in the Premier League paved the way for an eventual comprehensive defeat.

The result could easily have been different. Marco Silva's side took an early lead through the resurgent Raúl Jiménez, missed a penalty to score a second goal and played the final half hour with ten men after Joachim Andersen was sent off. They were dangerous from the first to the last minute.

But Villa are too strong a team not to take advantage as Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and an own goal from Issa Diop combined to secure the win.

Jiménez's opener – his 10th goal in 12 Premier League starts – was thanks to the simple, straightforward football rarely associated with a league that prides itself on being the strongest in the world. A curled ball from goalkeeper Bernd Leno flew all the way over the Aston Villa defensive line, where Jiménez outplayed Pau Torres with embarrassing ease and deftly slotted into the bottom corner, touching the inside of the post.

Just five minutes later, the guests equalized thanks to a good dose of luck. Morgan Rogers' speculative long-range shot bounced off Calvin Bassey's leg and flew into the opposite corner to its intended target, forcing a stranded Leno to stand and watch.

Both teams then missed opportunities to expand their record before half-time. First, Andreas Pereira offered the gentlest of penalties, which Emi Martinez easily parried away to his left. Referee Darren England belatedly pointed to the spot after watching Jiménez's header hit Matty Cash's outstretched arm on the pitchside monitor.

The visitors then returned the favor with that waste when Morgan Rogers somehow failed to find the gaping net after Ollie Watkins fired a low cross over the goal.

With the game hanging in the balance and time steadily ticking towards Jhon Duran's playing time, Villa moved into the lead when a brilliant header from Watkins prevented the Colombian's imminent arrival.

Villa's task of maintaining that lead was made considerably easier when Andersen received a straight red card for pushing Watkins after the goalscorer had shot at goal. And just minutes after coming on, Andersen's replacement at centre-back, Diop, compounded Fulham's misery by turning a cross into his own net.

The numbers were level late on when Jaden Philogene received a second yellow card in stoppage time for a charge on Reiss Nelson, but Fulham were unable to add to their tally.