Fulham 3 Aston Villa 0: Steven Gerrard sacked after hammering as Douglas Luiz sees red for headbutt
THEY say a picture paints a thousand words.
Steven Gerrard sat motionless with an ice-cold stare whenever the cameras turned to him at Craven Cottage.
It was as though he was picturing himself already packing his bags from Bodymoor Heath after Villa stretched their miserable run to just two wins in 11 Prem games.
And just moments after this crushing 3-0 defeat, Gerrard was sacked.
Harrison Reed inflicted the first blow with a dazzling 36th minute strike for only his second goal in 85 Fulham appearances.
And Aleksandar Mitrovic with his fresh trim truly made it curtains for Gerrard, before Tyrone Mings’ own goal, leaving Villa still hovering perilously above the drop zone.
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It really has been a catastrophic few weeks for Mings, who also cost Villa precious points at Chelsea in the game prior.
But this was supposed to be Villa’s week to change their fortunes with games against mid-table Fulham and Brentford.
And ex-England and Liverpool legend Gerrard said he was ready to show his never-say-die spirit again - but any glimmer of hope was killed off yesterday.
Serbian striker Mitro with a new skin-fade hair-cut was on target from the penalty spot after a Matty Cash handball on 68 minutes.
The forward also expertly flung himself to the floor after Douglas Luiz lightly stuck his head on him before he was SENT OFF.
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After the opener even the fairly tame Fulham fans, known for their love of cheese boards and victoria sponges, turned sour on Gerrard.
Chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” blared out from home supporters but the away end soon joined in when Luiz was sent packing.
Marco Silva made just one change to his side after their gut-busting 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, bringing Willian into the fray for Dan James.
It made all the difference with the Brazilian lashing an early warning shot at Emiliano Martinez who made a superb block with an outstretched foot.
The fearless, swashbuckling home side were a joy to watch in the first-half.
Andreas Pereira fancied his chances against Gerrard’s leaky defence, and fired a rocket strike agonisingly close to the left post.
And it didn’t take long for Mitrovic to direct a razor sharp header at goal which was blocked off the line by Tyrone Mings.
The Villa defender screamed in Martinez’s face as the cracks started to form.
The Argentine stopper shrugged it off to brilliantly tip over a dipping and curling free-kick from Andreas Pereira, before keeping out another rasping effort from Willian.
Fulham were building beautifully - they just needed another sniff at goal.
That arrived when Martinez punched Pereira’s corner into the path of Reed who took one touch and lashed it into the far corner on 36 minutes.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Villa as just before the break Ollie Watkins pounced on a fumbled clearance from Bernd Leno before the ex-Arsenal stopper clawed the ball away from goal.
Steven Gerrard's answer to the miserable first-half performance was bringing Matty Cash on.
The right-back replaced his Poland team-mate Jan Bednarek, who lasted just 45 minutes on his full debut.
Villa’s nightmare continued into the second half and there was a VAR check for a possible red card after Luiz decided to start on Mitro.
Referee Michael Oliver didn’t initially see it but VAR did and prompted Oliver over before he gave Luiz his marching orders on 61 minutes.
Things went from bad to worse for Villa when Michael Oliver made no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot after a Cash handball.
Mitro stepped up and struck home to make it eight Prem goals this term.
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The final nail was hammered in Villa’s coffin when Neeskens Kebano twisted inside and out of Cash before his low cross was turned in by Mings on 83 minutes.
Fulham winger Neeskens Kebano then ripped apart Cash before crossing for Mings to put into his own net.