Aston Villa a force to be reckoned with as they put four past West Ham
That’s the same margin that separated these two sides ahead of kick-off, and there was little between them during a high-tempo start to proceedings.
As the half wore on, the hosts began to impose themselves, dominating possession and manufacturing a golden chance which the in-form Ollie Watkins dragged agonisingly wide.
With 30 minutes on the clock, Watkins made amends for that miss, laying off Douglas Luiz, who drilled his effort low into the bottom corner to become the first player to score in six consecutive PL appearances at Villa Park.
Trailing at the break in the PL for the first time this season, West Ham needed to up their game, yet things went from bad to worse shortly after the interval.
A sloppy pass from Lucas Paquetá led to a clumsy foul from Edson Álvarez on Ezri Konsa, gifting Luiz the chance to double his goal tally from the spot. Facing the Holte End, the Brazilian made no mistake, smashing his penalty down the middle, but the home support’s joy was cut short just four minutes later.
Having recently signed a lengthy contract extension, Jarrod Bowen proved his worth, sending a deflected strike inside the far post to make him just the third player in PL history to score in each of his five opening away league games.
That goal ensured that each of the Hammers’ last six PL away matches have seen both teams on target, but the scoring wasn’t finished yet.
With the contest in the balance, John McGinn’s searching ball gave Watkins the space to drive towards goal and fire in a rocket at the near post, leaving Alphonse Areola helpless.
Coming off the bench, Leon Bailey then emphatically rounded off the scoring after showing brilliant agility in the penalty area, confirming an end to a run of 10 H2H encounters without a win for Villa.
Meanwhile, having previously gone 14 PL H2Hs without a loss (W8, D6), David Moyes suffers his first league defeat at the hands of Villa, leaving West Ham in 9th place.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)
