McGinn misses, Jackson punishes it: Fulham lead at Villa Park

Villa won an early penalty against Fulham and it looked like the kind of moment that defines an afternoon. McGinn stepped up, according to Sky Sports' live coverage, and failed to convert. The sort of miss that can deflate a home crowd and invite a visiting side to settle into the game.

Fulham made it count. Jackson punished the miss by opening the scoring at Villa Park, turning Villa's wasted penalty into the worst possible outcome for the hosts.

A season of small margins

Unai Emery's side arrived at this fixture sitting 12th in the Premier League, on 8 points from 7 games, a record of two wins, two draws and three defeats that leaves them with a goal difference of minus four. That's a side living on fine margins, and McGinn's miss had the look of exactly the sort of moment that's been costing them.

What it means in the moment

A missed penalty followed immediately by a goal at the other end is the kind of sequence that shifts a match's whole mood. Fulham arrived at Villa Park looking to disrupt a Villa side already short on consistency this season, and the opening exchanges gave them exactly the platform to do it. The full picture, final score and later goals weren't detailed beyond this passage of play, but Villa's self-inflicted setback came at the worst possible time.