Aston Villa missed an opportunity to close in on the Premier League’s top four after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by West Ham United on Sunday. Villa started brightly, with Jacob Ramsey opening the scoring in the eighth minute following a well-worked one-two with Ollie Watkins. However, West Ham fought back, and Emerson’s header in the 70th minute from an Edson Alvarez cross earned the visitors a deserved point.
Despite dominating early on, Aston Villa failed to extend their lead, with Youri Tielemans and Watkins both coming close. West Ham grew into the game in the second half, with Carlos Soler’s shot cleared off the line and Danny Ings narrowly missing the target. The Hammers thought they had won the game in added time when Lucas Paquetá scored, but the goal was ruled offside.
The draw leaves Aston Villa in eighth place with 37 points, four points behind the top four, while West Ham sits 13th with 27 points, a comfortable 11 points above the relegation zone. Aston Villa manager Unai Emery will be disappointed with his team’s inability to secure all three points, especially after dominating the early stages of the match.
West Ham’s Emerson expressed confidence in his side’s performance, praising their character and fighting spirit. Aston Villa also had concerns over injury-plagued defender Tyrone Mings, who was forced off with a knee injury, adding further worry ahead of their crucial Champions League clash with Celtic.
