This Sunday, Aston Villa hosted West Ham for what now looks like a glittering Premier League poster. In the event of a victory against the Londoners, the Villans had the opportunity to climb to fifth place but above all to come back to within two short lengths of provisional leader Manchester City. From the first moments of the match, Unai Emery’s men showed intensity. A choice which paid off as Douglas Luiz opened the scoring at the half-hour mark for Aston Villa on a nice serve from Watkins (1-0, 31st). The Brazilian metronome scored a double after returning from the locker room by converting a logically awarded penalty (2-0, 51st).
Overall Premier League standings
|
#
|
Team
|
Pts
|
J
|
DIF
|
G
|
NOT
|
D
|
BP
|
B.C.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5 |
|
16 |
9 |
15 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
24 |
9 |
|
6 |
|
16 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
19 |
12 |
|
7 |
|
16 |
9 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
22 |
18 |
|
8 |
|
15 |
9 |
-2 |
5 |
0 |
4 |
11 |
13 |
|
9 |
|
14 |
8 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
15 |
12 |
See the full ranking
And despite the reduction in the gap signed by Jarrod Bowen (2-1, 56th), the Villans had no doubts. Launched from deep, it was Ollie Watkins who confirmed his team’s victory by scoring from a very tight angle (3-1, 74th). At the end of the match, Leon Bailey added to the score for the Birmingham players (4-1, 89th). Author of a goal and an assist this evening, the 27-year-old striker now has five goals and five assists in just nine league matches. With this success, Aston Villa climbs to fifth place and has 19 points. For its part, West Ham remains stuck in the soft underbelly and is ninth.
