Villa sack Gerrard after stuttering start to season

Steven Gerrard was sacked by Aston Villa after his side crashed to a 3-0 defeat at Fulham.

The ex-Rangers manager, who succeeded Dean Smith at Villa Park little more than 11 months ago, departs with the West Midlanders languishing 17th in the Premier League. 

Despite backing 42-year-old Gerrard in the transfer market, the Villans have only won twice in 11 top-flight games this term. 

And tonight's loss at Craven Cottage, which followed hot on the heels of a 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea last weekend, proved to be the final straw for the club.

In a short and sweet statement, a Villa spokesman said: "We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future."

Having fallen behind to a Harrison Reed goal in the 36th minute, the visitors were left with an uphill task at Fulham when Douglas Luiz was given his marching orders just after the hour mark. 

Things went from bad to worse for Gerrard as Aleksandar Mitrovic doubled the advantage for Marco Silva's men from the penalty spot in the 68th minute.

And his misery was compounded seven minutes from time when Tyrone Mings turned the ball into his own net to round off a miserable evening for the Villans.

The capitulation in the capital leaves Villa outside the relegation zone by virtue of the fact they have scored two more goals than Midlands rivals Wolves, who sit 18th in the table.