Aston Villa v West Ham player ratings: Konsa 5, Watkins 7; Rice 9, Bowen 8

High-flying Hammers seal 4-1 win at Villa Park that leaves them fourth in the table and level on points with Manchester City

ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez - 6: Maybe should have done better with Rice’s strike for second goal but did come through pack of bodies before hitting back of net. Excellent save from England midfielder’s free-kick in second half and unfortunate to see stop from Bowen fall to Fornal’s feet for third goal. PA

Matthew Cash – 6: Brilliant double block on two goal-bound Bowen efforts after 15 minutes, with another similar challenge to deny Fornals in second half. Ambitious long-range drive well over bar just after half-hour mark. Getty

Ezri Konsa - 5: Defence reverted to back four and, like rest of his teammates at back, seemed to struggle with new shape in first half. Sent off for bringing down Bowen on edge of box just after break following VAR referral that saw yellow card turned into red for professional foul. PA

Kortney Hause - 6: Back in team after captain Tyrone Mings was dropped and looked nervy early on, loose in possession and up against a proper handful in Antonio. Lucky to avoid at least a booking for ugly looking forearm smash in face of Fornals. Reuters

Matt Targett - 5: Poor defending from left-back when he allowed Johnson to cut inside and smack home West Ham’s early opener. Reuters

John McGinn - 7: Lovely ball into feet of Buendia in run-up to Watkins’ goal. Guided header wide when he should have at least hit target. His perfect cross into middle was headed against bar by Watkins in second half. Reuters

Marvelous Nakamba - 6: Some meaty challenges in middle of park from the recalled Zimbabwean who was on the receiving end of a poor tackle himself from Fornals in second half. Stuck to his task up against an in-form Hammers midfield. PA

Emiliano Buendia - 5: Had offered Villa little or no width on right of midfield until suddenly springing in action to supply cross for Watkin’s leveller after brushing off Fornals’ weak challenge. Sacrificed after Konsa’s red card – and wasn’t happy about it. Getty

Jacob Ramsey – N/A: Left in agony after turning over ankle and had to be substituted just 14 minutes in. Reuters

Leon Bailey - 6: Former Bayer Leverkusen winger making first start for Villa and had team’s first chance but shot straight at Fabianski. Struggled to make much of an impact after that and was no surprise when taken off in second half. Getty

Ollie Watkins - 7: With Danny Ings absent, it was left to Watkins to provide Villa’s cutting edge up front which he did provide. Drilled home Villa’s equaliser after being teed-up by Buendia and headed against crossbar in second half following excellent McGinn ball. PA

SUBS: Ashley Young – (On for Ramsey 14’) 6: Early introduction after Ramsey’s injury and took a little while to settle into flow of game. Didn’t hide his frustrations at some of referee Chris Kavanagh’s calls. Reuters

Tyrone Mings – (On for Buendia 52’) 5: Captain was brutally dropped by manager Dean Smith after last week’s defeat against Arsenal. Called into action following Konsa’s sending off but couldn’t prevent late collapse as extra man West Ham took advantage of extra man. AFP

Anwar El Ghazi – (On for Bailey 72’) 5: Last throw of dice by manager Dean Smith only for West Ham to kill-off game in last 10 minutes. Reuters

WEST HAM RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski - 7: Will have been frustrated after getting leg to Watkins’ opener for Villa but failed to keep it out – but produced crucial fingertip save to turn header from same player onto bar in second half with score at 2-1. Getty

Ben Johnson - 7: Scored his second Premier League goal and what a cracker it was. The right back cut inside Targett before firing a sizzling left-footed drive into bottom corner to put his team head after seven minutes. Getty

Kurt Zouma - 7: Man mountain at the back who was at the heart of another fine defensive performance from Hammers. Continues to look an excellent signing from London neighbours Chelsea. Reuters

Angelo Ogbonna - 7: Strong in the air and on the ground, Italian defender and Zouma are a formidable duo at back for Hammers at the moment. Reuters

Aaron Cresswell - 7: Mr Reliable down the left flank both defensively and going forward. Says something about Cresswell’s form that it’s a surprise his name doesn’t figure among the assists for any of West Ham’s four goals. AFP

Tomas Soucek - 8: Has established an excellent midfield partnership with Rice. Strong in the tackle, reliable in possession and his usual threat in air that saw him have an early header saved by Martinez. AFP

Declan Rice - 9: One of the best players in league at moment. Pinged ball out wide for Johnson before teammate opened scoring then grabbed second himself with low strike into corner of net. Also had free-kick saved well by Martinez after break. Top quality. AFP

Jarrod Bowen - 8: Had head in hands after two first-half efforts in quick succession were blocked by Cash. Would have been through on goal but for Konsa foul that saw Villa defender sent off. Denied goal by good Martinez save that fell nicely for Fornals to score third but finally tapped home to make it 4-1 following fine work by Lanzini. PA

Said Benrahma - 6: Quiet game from Algerian, who scored the decisive penalty in the midweek League Cup shoot-out victory over Manchester City, although did supply pass to Rice before midfielder fired home West Ham’s second goal. Hooked just after hour. AFP

Pablo Fornals - 7: Weak challenge allowed Buendia to set-up Watkins’ goal. Took heavy forearm to face off Hause after break that should have seen Villa man at least booked, then earned yellow card himself for poor challenge on Nakamba. Tapped home West Ham’s third goal from close range. PA

Michail Antonio - 7: Enjoyed a real rough and tumble battle with Konsa in first half. Saw one shot take massive deflection before dropping just over bar.Usual excellent hold-up play and his headed flick-on was crucial in build-up to Fornals’ goal. Reuters

SUBS: Manuel Lanzini – (On for Benrahma 65’) 7: Shoved McGinn to ground during fracas soon after coming on. Unselfish play to set-up Bowen for fourth goal. PA

Vladimir Coufal – (On for Fornals 90+1’) N/A. Reuters Nikola Vlasic – (On for Bowen 90 +1’) N/A.

Nov 1, 2021

West Ham United continued their fine form after thrashing 10-man Aston Villa 4-1 in the Premier League on Sunday.

The comprehensive victory leaves David Moyes' side — who are still going strong in the League Cup and Europa League — fourth in the table and level on points with third-placed Manchester City.

Hammers' full-back Ben Johnson opened the scoring after seven minutes when he cut inside Matt Targett before firing home a low shot following a fine cross-field pass from Declan Rice.

West Ham dazzle at Villa Park to attain best unbeaten run for 35 years

Villa levelled through Ollie Watkins, who swept home after 34 minutes following good work from Emiliano Buendia to lift the Villa Park crowd.

But that joy lasted just four minutes when the magnificent Rice drilled a shot through a crowd of Villa defenders and into the bottom corner.

The crucial sending off came early in the second half when Ezri Konsa saw his yellow card for a foul on Jarrod Bowen on the edge of the box upgraded to red following a VAR referral.

Villa remained in the contest, though, until the 80th minute when Pablo Fornals tapped home the third goal from close range after Emiliano Martinez had saved well from Jarrod Bowen.

The fourth followed minutes later after Manuel Lanzini unselfishly teed-up Bowen to finish off the scoring.

Hammers manager Moyes said: “I'm thrilled with the result. The performance perhaps could have been better.

“The red card obviously had a big impact on the game. Overall, I thought we had long periods of good control without making the most of it.”

Moyes' Villa counterpart Dean Smith said: “The red card was the wrong decision; the referee saw it in real time. I asked him why and he said because he was in on goal and the ball was moving towards the goal. Clearly, it wasn't.”

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.

Updated: November 01, 2021, 2:44 AM