Emotional Yarmolenko on target as West Ham beat Villa

An emotional Andriy Yarmolenko scored for West Ham in his first game since war broke out in his native Ukraine as the Hammers secured a 2-1 win against Aston Villa at the London Stadium.

There could not have been a more popular player to break the deadlock as far as the home fans were concerned, and Yarmolenko pointed to the skies before wiping away tears as he was mobbed by his team-mates following his 70th-minute strike.

The 32-year-old's goal also served as a welcome morale booster for West Ham, with the afternoon threatening to be a damaging one following second-half injuries to Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell.

But the three points were secured thanks to Pablo Fornals, who turned home Said Benrahma's cut back after a brilliant run through the Villa midfield by Declan Rice (82).

Villa had been toothless up until that point but finally raised their game after Fornals' strike, and Jacob Ramsey ensured it was a nervy final few minutes for the Hammers after he expertly sent a shot into the top corner from the edge of the area after good work by substitutes Leon Bailey and Emiliano Buendia.

But it was too little too late for Steven Gerrard's side, who missed the chance to tighten their grip on ninth place, while West Ham closed the gap on fourth-placed Manchester United to just two points.

More to follow...

West Ham will return to Europa League action on Thursday, March 17 at 8pm as they face Sevilla in the second leg of their last-16 tie, where they will be looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit.

The Hammers then travel to play top-four rivals Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, March 20 at 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports.

Aston Villa's next Premier League game will see welcome Arsenal on Saturday, March 19 at 12.30pm.