West Ham Scrapes By in Win Against Aston Villa

West Ham United took on Aston Villa in the 10th game-week of this Premier League season, beating them 2-1. The Hammers got off to a hot start at the beginning of each half, scoring their goals in the 2nd minute and in the 46th minute. 

West Ham's Angelo Ogbonna nodded in a corner from Jarrod Bowen to give the Irons their first lead of the night. Following this goal however, Aston Villa controlled the rest of the first half and drew the game back level with an outside-the-box equalizer from Jack Grealish in the 25th minute. 

West Ham's manager David Moyes made two halftime substitutions, bringing on striker Sebastian Haller for Michail Antonio and new signing Said Benrahma to replace Arthur Masuaku. After just 30 seconds on the pitch, Benrahma made an instant impact with his cross that assisted the eventual game winning goal from Jarrod Bowen.

Aston Villa's striker Ollie Watkins definitely had a night to forget. His first opportunity to draw Villa level at two goals escaped his grasp when he smashed his penalty kick off the crossbar in the 74th minute. In stoppage time, Watkins' had the equalizing goal in the back of the net but it was waved off by a questionable VAR decision, securing the 2-1 win for the Hammers of East London.

As it stands, West Ham currently sit in fifth on the Premier League table on 17 points, skipping past Aston Villa who dropped down to 10th place with their fourth loss of this season. 

The Hammer's current position of 5th place is definitely a surprise to most, especially considering their opening run of fixtures in which they faced the likes of Arsenal, Wolves, Leicester, Man City, Spurs, and Liverpool. 

For the first time this season, West Ham will be playing in front of fans at their home ground in the London Stadium next Saturday. 2,000 lucky attendees will be present to witness West Ham try and continue their hot start to the 2020-21 campaign, when they take on Manchester United who currently sit in 9th.