‘Very tight’: Mike Dean reacts to decision he saw in Aston Villa’s Premier League

With a crucial 2-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon, Aston Villa got back on track.

After favorable outcomes elsewhere, Unai Emery’s team was able to reclaim their spot in the top four thanks to two goals from Ollie Watkins.

Rodrigo Muniz’s second-half goal wasn’t enough for Fulham, who fell to their first defeat in three Premier League matches.

The fixture wasn’t without controversy after goals were ruled out for both sides during the first half.

Minutes before Watkins’ opener, Tim Ream thought he had put the hosts in front, only for the linesman to flag for offside.

And former Premier League official Mike Dean believes it was a tight call.

Mike Dean reacts to tight Aston Villa decision

Speaking on Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports, Dean thought it was close.

“It was very, very tight,” he said.

With VAR also in place, it’s fair to say the decision was probably the correct call.

Even with Diego Carlos’ latest injury, Aston Villa’s defense is still strong since Pau Torres is back just in time. In addition, Youri Tielemans did a good job filling in for the hurt Boubacar Kamara.

Kamara suffered an ACL injury during the Manchester United match, and is expected to be sidelined until October.

Emery has even said that he has never seen the club’s injury crisis like it is right now.

He said to The Athletic, “We are human and we will support the players, especially with ACL injuries.”

“As a coach, I have never encountered a situation like this. I am aware that Real Madrid has experienced similar outcomes with ACL injuries involving David Alaba, Eder Militao, and Thibaut Courtois.

However, we must accept it and go forward. We want to help the players who will have opportunities, we work hard, and we are positive.

“Maybe there is work you can do in terms of injury prevention with certain types of injuries, like hamstrings, but knee injuries are different,” he continued.

However, this is not a result of what we’ve done. Emiliano was hurt at the practice field, Kamara was hurt at Villa Park, and Tyrone was hurt at Newcastle.

Next up is a home game against the lowly Nottingham Forest, which should be favorable.