Moussa Diaby marked his debut with a goal as Aston Villa stepped up their pre-season preparations with a 2-0 victory over Fulham in their Premier League Summer Series encounter in Orlando.
The new signing was introduced at half-time and wasted little time getting on the scoresheet as he raced on to Douglas Luiz’s throughball and drilled home a low strike in the 73rd minute.
It came after youngster Jaden Philogene capped another impressive performance with the opening goal just before the interval, slotting home Lucas Digne’s cross first-time from six yards.
Cameron Archer had earlier seen his penalty well saved by Bernd Leno, while Emi Martínez was called upon after the break to deny the Cottagers, who also went close through Carlos Vinicius and Harry Wilson.
It was another demanding workout for Unai Emery’s side in hot and humid Florida conditions, with a large contingent of Villa supporters cheering the team on at Exploria Stadium.
The Villans now travel back to Washington, DC to take on Brentford in their final match of the tournament on Sunday.
Thunderstorms in the local area meant kick-off was delayed by one hour and 20 minutes, with supporters and players unable to enter the stadium bowl.
When the action did finally get underway, it was Villa who enjoyed the first good opening early on as Ezri Konsa headed off target from eight yards.
Both sides battled to get a foothold in the game as the first half went on, with neither goalkeeper seriously troubled until the half-hour mark.
Archer burst in behind the Fulham defence and was tripped in the area by Luc De Fougerolles as he attempted to shoot, however his low spot-kick was tipped on to a post by Leno.
Villa kept possession and created another clear-cut opportunity moments later, but Archer was unable to slot home having latched on to John McGinn’s pass.
Yet the Villans did not have to wait long to open the scoring as fellow youngster Philogene superbly swept home Digne’s cross from close range, securing a one-goal lead at the break.
But it was the Cottagers who went close to a leveller as an unmarked Vinicius headed over from six yards.
The Fulham striker went even closer in the 55th minute as he sent a looping header narrowly wide which had Martínez at full stretch.
Villa made a further five substitutions shortly after the hour as Emery turned to Ollie Watkins, Philippe Coutinho, Seb Revan, Omari Kellyman and Calum Chambers.
An unmarked Wilson slotted wide a golden opportunity in the 71st minute, and Villa capitalised moments later as Diaby raced through to make it 2-0.
Martínez stood strong to thwart Luke Harris before superbly tipping around a post to deny the Fulham sub again just a minute later.
And as the game went from end to end at the conclusion, Revan came to Villa’s rescue with an excellent last-ditch tackle, preserving the 2-0 scoreline.
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