Aston Villa 0-1 West Ham: Deflected Pablo Fornals goal gives Hammers narrow win in Birmingham

West Ham beat Aston Villa 1-0 thanks to a deflected Pablo Fornals strike. It was a fortunate goal, cruelly looping up and over Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, but a vital one for the Hammers who claim their first Premier League points of the season. Ad West Ham entered the match as the only team in the top four divisions of English football without a goal this season, and on this evidence it is easy to see why.

League CupThird-round draw: Man City face Chelsea in pick of seven all-Premier League ties24/08/2022 AT 21:43 The Hammers were remarkably passive, particularly in the first half when David Moyes set his team out with an unfamiliar back five. Villa had been on top but largely ineffectual until Lucas Digne’s 14th-minute corner found Ezri Konsa. VAR ruled out the goal — Digne’s corner crossed the byline before reaching Konsa — but it seemingly served to convince the Hammers to sit even deeper.

The introduction of Said Benrahma at half-time improved things somewhat, but West Ham still looked bereft of ideas. Gianluca Scamacca was working hard, but his team could hardly get him the ball. He had just one touch in the opposition box in his 65 minutes on the pitch.

Aston Villa were little better than the visitors in terms of quality, but they were at least trying to make things happen. Philippe Coutinho was heavily involved, making 40 touches in the opposition half. The Brazilian was constantly trying things.

Even if a lot of those things didn’t come off, he gave the home side direction, something the visitors lacked. A match lacking in real quality always seemed likely to be decided by the odd goal and, after 55 minutes, it almost was. Jarrod Bowen ran onto a long ball and was alone in the box.