Aston Villa moved up to fifth place in the Premier League as they eased to a 1-0 win against fellow European hopefuls Fulham at Villa Park on Tuesday night.

What happened in Villa against Fulham?

Unai Emery's side were looking to get back to winning ways on Tuesday having dropped points away at Brentford last weekend, and they were able to do just that with a fairly composed victory over a Fulham side who were seriously lacking in attack, as Aleksandar Mitrovic continues his suspension.

Marco Silva's side did come extremely close to opening the scoring in the first few minutes when Andreas Pereira's acrobatic effort drifted just wide of Emiliano Martinez's post, but this was the closest the visitors would come at Villa Park.

Tyrone Mings was the man to break the deadlock in the first half when he headed in John McGinn's corner, and that would prove to be the only goal of the game on a surprisingly quiet night in the Midlands.

The in-form Ollie Watkins looked a constant threat throughout and came close with a couple of efforts but Mings' goal was enough to seal another vital three points.

While the England centre-back will take the plaudits after his goal and his role in Villa's clean sheet, it was arguably McGinn who was Emery's best performer against the Cottagers.

How did McGinn play against Fulham?

As per Sofascore, the former Hearts midfielder would earn an impressive 7.6/10 rating for his performance on Tuesday, which was the best of any player to feature in the game from both sides.

As well as notching the assist, the 28-year-old managed an impressive three key passes, completing 16/18 on the night with a solid success rate of 89%.

Considering the £55k-per-week earner has averaged just 0.6 key passes per game with an 81.6% pass average in the Premier League so far this season, it is clear that he raised his game from a passing perspective last night.

The Scotland international looks to have rediscovered his best form in his new role as a right-winger in Emery's side and was a constant menace to Fulham's defence, as he completed two dribbles and was fouled a remarkable six times; again an increase on his average of 1.2 and 1.7 times per game so far this term.

McGinn also contributed two clearances, two crosses and two shots in what was a superb all-round display on Tuesday, which saw him labelled as the "Flying Scotsman" on Twitter by journalist Statman Dave.

Therefore, it is arguably the Villa midfielder who deserves the credit after another impressive display, with his upturn in form no doubt a big factor in Emery's side's push for a top-four finish.