A frustrating Saturday lunchtime in the second city left Fulham faltering out of the European picture. It was all the more galling because the Whites had the chances to get themselves back into it – and gave Aston Villa the easiest of opening goals. Here’s my man-by-man marking:

Bernd Leno: The German goalkeeper might feel a little annoyed that he failed to keep up Youri Tieleman’s header after getting a hand on the ball, but the fault for the decisive goal lay elsewhere. Sander Berge and Kenny Tete gave the Belgian midfielder the freedom of Birmingham to power home John McGinn’s corner – and Leno kept the Whites in the game two terrific saves afterwards. One – a full length fingertip to Tielemans’ terrific long-ranger – wasn’t spotted by the referee, whilst a splendid stop with his feet denied the off-colour Ollie Watkins. 7

Kenny Tete: Struggled to get in the game going forward because of Villa’s strength down the left flank. Coped well with the raids of Ian Maatsen whilst the former Chelsea full-back was on the field but was also pushed back by the probing runs from Morgan Rogers, particularly in the first half. Understandable that the Dutch defender is still struggling to complete 90 minutes after so long out – but it would be shame if his time in SW6 peters out as Fulham’s European hopes tail off. 6

Antonee Robinson: It looked like our all-action American football had been rushed back to the action a little too quickly. You can see why Silva wants him in the side but he wasn’t able to impose himself on proceedings, particularly for the hour that John McGinn was on the pitch and operating largely from the right flank. When Rogers switched wings with the Scottish schemer, he often overpowered Jedi – and we only saw the lungbusting runs up the left flank as Fulham pushed forward in the closing stages. If Europe is now out of the question, it might be best to let Robinson rest and get the surgery he surely needs. 5

Joachim Andersen: Defensively, the Dane did pretty well up against Watkins and Villa’s explosive forward line – especially as he is noticeably slower in his second stint with the Whites. He was left conclusively behind by Donyell Malen as the game became stretched, but that is to expected. Of greater concern was the dodgy distribution that dogged Fulham’s attempts to switch the play. Andersen misplaced a number of ambitious crossfield balls in the second half – something which is usually such an asset in his commendable game. 6

Calvin Bassey: The Nigerian was the more progressive of the Fulham centre backs, often using his pace and power to bring the ball up the pitch with purpose. He endured a difficult afternoon tracking the intelligent runs of Villa’s forwards and could quite easily have been booked for a second time in the second half. Bassey showed serious spirit to keep going after being badly winded twice and his disappointment on the final whistle mirrored that of the travelling fans. 6

Sasa Lukic: The Serbian worked his socks off throughout but both he and Sander Berge were definitely outclassed by Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara, even if the latter didn’t have his most complete game in the Villa midfield. Lukic is also confident in possession and strong in the tackle but tried a couple of shots from distance as the home side seemed to deal with Fulham’s patient passing fairly easily. A laudable effort in difficult circumstances. 6

Sander Berge: The Norwegian has been excellent since being integrated into Silva’s midfield, but this was one of his more frustrating afternoons. A rangy runner, you are begging him to pull the trigger when it gets within sight of the goal – as he has done successfully for Burnley, Sheffield United and his country – but he seems adverse to going for it in the final third. Maybe it has been coached out of him. He struggled to dictate the play or be as influential in the engine room against two top-tier operators and it was no surprise when he was substituted. 5

Ryan Sessegnon: Another day where Sessegnon looked like Fulham’s most likely source of goal – and yet was sacrificed early. That seemed strange from Silva at the time, but could perhaps be explained by the fact that he had already been harshly booked and queried Rob Jones’ decision to disallow his goal. It didn’t get any better after his withdrawal, unfortunately. Sessegnon buzzed around brightly, helping Tete curb the Villa threat down his flank, but looked one of the few in a white shirt willing to take people on. Unfortunate that the ball ricocheted off his hand as it certainly didn’t impact on the quality of the finish. 7

Alex Iwobi: A strangely subdued showing from the birthday boy. Iwobi looked ponderous in possession and reluctant to take on his full back when he had the opportunity. He looked leggy from the get-go, perhaps a legacy of being one of Silva’s most trusted lieutenants throughout a long season, and perhaps needs a prolonged break. Had a shot that was all too easy for Emi Martinez to handle on the stroke of half time and played a lovely ball to release Wilson, but was uncharacteristically slow to cover a below-par Robinson at the other end of the pitch. 5

Harry Wilson: On another day, the Welsh winger could have had a hat-trick. He was upset when an early cross was flicked out of his path and McGinn led Villa up the other end to create the winning goal. Wilson was lively throughout but is clearly still regaining the stamina to last the pace of a Premier League match. The man who was in such superb goalscoring form before breaking that bone in his foot would have buried the two chances that came his way in the second half. Wilson couldn’t elevate his chip to beat Martinez when clean through and should have done much better with the far post header that followed, but he will once again be better for having these minutes in his legs. 6

Raul Jimenez: The Mexican fought a running battle with Villa’s centre halves – who manhandled him throughout – and bust a gut to try and get Fulham back into this contest without any reward. No ball fell kindly for him in the penalty area and he had to manufacture a shooting opportunity from the edge of the box at the end of the first half. He toiled manfully even when he was out on his feet and it told you everything that Silva sought to persevere with the 33 year-old rather than trust Carlos Vinicius. 7

Substitutes:

Emile Smith Rowe: I felt a bit for the attacking midfielder that he was asked to save Fulham from another losing position after his rescue act at St. Mary’s. He came short for the ball – and actually looked accomplished in a deeper lying midfield role once Harrison Reed limped off – but only had one sight of goal, where he hurried his effort in his eagerness to make the most of a chance where he had more time. Smith Rowe’s season hasn’t panned out the way anyone has expected, but he deserves an extended run in his preferred position before being written off. 6

Adama Traore: This wasn’t the way the former Aston Villa winger would have wished to return to Villa Park. He miscontrolled a ball over the byline having run 60 yards to turn a lost cause into something promising and couldn’t get the better of Luca Digne despite making the full back drop off him in fear. In fairness to the Spaniard, Fulham didn’t get the ball to him often enough in the moments that mattered. 5

Timothy Castagne: A tough task for the Belgian to get Fulham going forward at a crucial time of the contest. He hardly had time to get up to the pace of the contest before missing a header that gave the hosts a chance to put the game to bed and then was largely unused despite pushing on to regularly be the furthest white shirt forward. If Tete is leaving come the summer, will Silva trust him enough to be the first choice right back? 5

Harrison Reed: A horrible way for the ‘Ginger Iniesta’ to end his Fulham career if he doesn’t stay beyond the end of this season. I feel as if his qualities have been underused this season – especially when we’ve been overly exposed in the middle of the pitch – and he was dreadfully unlucky to pick up another bad injury having seen his campaign curtailed by that already. The fact that Silva had already used his full complement of substitutes summed up an annoying afternoon. 6

Willian: Not the Brazilian veteran’s brightest performance and it seemed instructive that he headed straight down the tunnel at the final whistle rather than come over to clap the Fulham faithful. As good as Willian’s been, it is clear that he is now an impact player at best – and can’t be a part of what looks like an extensive summer rebuild. He’s produced plenty of magic moments that will live long in the memory, but sparking another late comeback proved beyond him here. 5