Steven Gerrard was relieved of his duties as Aston Villa manager after Fulham secured a comfortable victory at Craven Cottage.
Gerrard leaves the Midlands club in 17th place, level on points with 18th-placed Wolves but with a superior goal difference.
Harrison Reed gave the home side the lead, drilling home after Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had punched a corner into the midfielder's path.
Andreas Pereira went close on two occasions, while Aleksandar Mitrovic had a far-post header cleared off the line by Tyrone Mings as Fulham dominated the first half.
Villa's evening went from bad to worse just after the hour mark, when Douglas Luiz was shown a straight red card after being adjudged by the video assistant referee to have head-butted Mitrovic in an off-the-ball altercation.