A Short Review
The First-Half
Coming into the game, West Ham had the chance to win three on the bounce and Villa were on the back of a defeat. However, with both sides electric start to this season this was an eagerly awaited game.
The game started and West Ham took the lead in a flash through a set-piece when Angelo Ogbonna scored from the far post. Inside two minutes, David Moyes’s side had their noses in front and Villa had work to do. Despite going down to an early goal, Villa kept going and looked dangerous in every attack with Jack Grealish being at the heart of everything they did. It was the skipper himself who brought his side back in the game when he dribbled through West Ham’s midfield and scored the equalizing goal.
Despite the even scoreline, Aston Villa were the more dangerous side going forward. Villa had 60% possession to West Ham’s 40% and also had 6 shots at goal with 2 on target. The away side ended the half strongly, and David Moyes had some thinking to do.
The Second-Half
The start of the second half mirrored the beginning of the first half as West Ham scored inside a minute again. It was a good move which was finished by Jarrod Bowen and West Ham were leading once again.
Interestingly, David Moyes’s two half time substitutions had a significant impact. Both Haller and Benrahma were involved in the build-up to Bowen’s goal. However, it was the change in the system which caught the attention as West Ham shifted to a back four and matched Villa in the midfield zone. West Ham squeezed up and looked more robust in the second half. Still, Aston Villa were by far the better team in the attack.
Later on, the away side were gifted a golden chance to level the score when Trezeguet went down after a challenge from Declan Rice—stepped up Ollie Watkins who hit the crossbar. Dean Smith’s side kept pushing and created a few more promising chances, but somehow West Ham were surviving. In added time, Aston Villa got a goal through Watkins, but VAR disallowed it for a very tight offside call.
West Ham only recorded 27% of the ball in the second, and clearly, Villa were all over them. The away side had 10 shots with 4 of them being on target. Impressively, 7 out of those 10 shots were taken from inside the box. Aston Villa completed 11 dribbles while West Ham only completed 3 in the whole half. Aston Villa’s ball movement was excellent, but they couldn’t find a way past Fabianski.
Fixture Details: [fixture 16924694]
Eye Catching Performers
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)
Jarrod Bowen was at the heart of a lot of good things that West Ham did going forward. The 23-year-old assisted the first goal and scored the second, which turned out to be the winning goal. Bowen completed 2 key passes and recorded 83% passing accuracy as well.
Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham United)
The big defender scored in the second minute of the match and was spot on throughout the whole game. The 32-year-old completed 8 clearances as well as a fantastic 3 interceptions. Ogbonna won 5 aerial duals and also completed 3 long balls against Villa.
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
The Villa captain was on fire against West Ham. He had 2 shots on target, and outstandingly completed all of his 7 attempted dribbles. Grealish also completed 41 passes and recorded 89% of passing accuracy in the process. The skipper also completed 2 crosses and a brilliant 5 key passes. Physically strong, the 25-year-old also won 12 ground duals at the London Stadium.
