Ryan Sessegnon scored the only goal as Fulham kept themselves in the hunt to secure European football next season with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Craven Cottage.

Having signed a one-year contract extension earlier this week, Sessegnon repaid that faith in the 43rd minute to propel Fulham, at least temporarily, into the top half of the table.

The left-back fired through the legs of Ezri Konsa and past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from inside the box – a strike that served as punishment for the missed opportunities of Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins earlier. 

Unai Emery’s side struggled to break down Fulham’s defence in the second half, and could have fallen further behind, only to see Timothy Castagne’s 65th-minute header ruled out.

Villa stay fourth but would drop one place on goal difference if Liverpool beat Crystal Palace later on Saturday. Fulham, meanwhile, move above Sunderland and Everton into 10th.

How the match unfolded

Both sides struggled to create any clear-cut chances early on, though it was Villa who came closest to opening the scoring twice in quick succession, with Rogers cutting inside from the right before flashing his shot just wide of the far post.

A minute later, Watkins did well to hold off Joachim Andersen’s challenge to create some space, but he was unable to hit the target with his right-footed attempt.

Villa were made to pay for the profligacy two minutes before the break, with Sessegnon placing the ball home on the rebound after Martinez saved Sasa Lukic’s initial header.

Fulham thought they had pulled further clear when Castagne headed in at the back post, but the goal was ruled out as Sander Berge was deemed to have fouled Martinez on the corner.

Tammy Abraham came close to repeating his late heroics from Villa’s thrilling win over Sunderland seven minutes from time, but after beating Andersen with a fine bit of skill, he skewed his effort over the crossbar as Fulham held on for the win.