Aston Villa captain John McGinn revealed that Unai Emery was desperate for his side to keep a clean sheet in their win over Fulham on Sunday.

Raul Jimenez's first Premier League goal in this match since March 2022 - which ended a run of 33 games without a goal in the competition - put paid to Villa's hopes of keeping that elusive clean sheet. It was however only a consolation goal as Villa were coasting in a three-goal lead just after the hour mark.

Youri Tielemans made his first league start for Villa on Sunday and made a key contribution for the host's opener as it was his cross which Antonee Robinson bundled into his own net. McGinn doubled Villa's advantage before Ollie Watkins bagged Villa's third in the 64th minute.

Villa have scored 29 goals in 12 league games this season, which is the second most in the top-flight, behind only Man City on 32. As his side were 2-0 up at the break, above anything else, Emery wanted his side to register a clean sheet having registered only two of them in 16 league games before Sunday.

"The manager was screaming at half-time 'clean sheet, clean sheet'," McGinn said after full-time. "I've not seen him yet so maybe he's angry. Hopefully we can carry on, stay humble and try to achieve something we haven't done in a while."

Asked whether Villa can finish in the top five, McGinn said: "It's the next challenge. Last season it was top 10 but we got into Europe. We have to respect the teams who have been there for years. Fulham will cause a lot of teams problems.

"The manager put a lot of pressure on me at the start of the season to get 10 goals. I have five in all competitions. Let's see if I can put a smile on his face."