West Ham moved fifth in the Premier League with victory over Aston Villa in a pulsating match at London Stadium.
Villa’s Ollie Watkins was denied a stoppage-time equaliser after an agonising VAR wait deemed his upper arm was offside.
The former Brentford man also hit the bar with a penalty as the spirited visitors pressed for the leveller their play more than deserved.
David Moyes has quietly established the Hammers as an effective outfit this season and they got off to the perfect start when Angelo Ogbonna buried a header past Emiliano Martinez inside the first two minutes.
Villa had won all three of their previous away games and seized control of the first half after that, Jack Grealish whipping an equaliser past Lukasz Fabianski from distance.
But Moyes rang the changes at half-time and it paid immediate dividends as substitute Said Benrahma set up Jarrod Bowen for a delightfully deft header immediately after the break to retake the lead.
Villa had plenty of chances to draw level but were left to rue Watkins’ profligacy and VAR’s ruling.
West Ham, meanwhile, gratefully took the win to move to within four points of Tottenham and the Premier League summit.
More to follow.
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West Ham United
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Squad number1Player nameFabianski
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Squad number4Player nameBalbuena
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Squad number21Player nameOgbonna
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Squad number3Player nameCresswell
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Squad number5Player nameCoufal
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Squad number41Player nameRice
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Squad number28Player nameSoucek
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Squad number26Player nameMasuaku
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Squad number20Player nameBowen
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Squad number18Player nameFornals
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Squad number30Player nameAntonio
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Squad number9Player nameBenrahma
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Squad number16Player nameNoble
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Squad number22Player nameHaller
Aston Villa
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Squad number26Player nameMartÃnez
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Squad number2Player nameCash
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Squad number4Player nameKonsa
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Squad number5Player nameMings
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Squad number18Player nameTargett
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Squad number7Player nameMcGinn
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Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz
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Squad number14Player nameHourihane
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Squad number17Player nameTrézéguet
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Squad number11Player nameWatkins
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Squad number10Player nameGrealish
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Squad number15Player nameTraoré
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Squad number21Player nameEl Ghazi
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Squad number27Player nameAhmed El Mohamady
Line-ups
West Ham
- 1Fabianski
- 4Balbuena
- 21Ogbonna
- 3Cresswell
- 5Coufal
- 41Rice
- 28Soucek
- 26MasuakuSubstituted forBenrahmaat 45′minutes
- 20BowenSubstituted forNobleat 79′minutes
- 18FornalsBooked at 53mins
- 30AntonioSubstituted forHallerat 45′minutes
Substitutes
- 9Benrahma
- 10Lanzini
- 16Noble
- 22Haller
- 23Diop
- 31Johnson
- 35Randolph
Aston Villa
- 26MartÃnez
- 2CashBooked at 67minsSubstituted forEl Mohamadyat 88′minutes
- 4Konsa
- 5Mings
- 18Targett
- 7McGinn
- 6Douglas Luiz
- 14HourihaneSubstituted forTraoréat 74′minutes
- 17TrézéguetSubstituted forEl Ghaziat 74′minutes
- 11Watkins
- 10Grealish
Substitutes
- 3Taylor
- 12Steer
- 15Traoré
- 19Nakamba
- 21El Ghazi
- 27El Mohamady
- 41Ramsey
Live Text
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Match ends, West Ham United 2, Aston Villa 1.
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Second Half ends, West Ham United 2, Aston Villa 1.
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VAR Decision: No Goal West Ham United 2-1 Aston Villa.
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GOAL OVERTURNED BY VAR: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) scores but the goal is ruled out after a VAR review.
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Offside, Aston Villa. Matt Targett tries a through ball, but Ollie Watkins is caught offside.
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Attempt saved. Bertrand Traoré (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jack Grealish.
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Ezri Konsa Ngoyo (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Sébastien Haller (West Ham United).
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Substitution, Aston Villa. Ahmed El Mohamady replaces Matthew Cash.
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Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Declan Rice.
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Attempt blocked. Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Matt Targett.
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John McGinn (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Sébastien Haller (West Ham United).
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Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Pablo Fornals (West Ham United).
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Substitution, West Ham United. Mark Noble replaces Jarrod Bowen.
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Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Fabián Balbuena (West Ham United).
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Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Tomas Soucek (West Ham United).
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