Rogers at the double as Villa hit back to win 3-2 at West Ham

LONDON, Dec 14 : Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers bagged a double as the visitors twice came from behind to win 3-2 at West Ham United to remain in the thick of the Premier League title race on Sunday.

Villa conceded after 29 seconds as Mateus Fernandes punished a mistake by Ezri Konsa and the away side trailed 2-1 at the interval before Rogers took matters into his own hands.

The England midfielder drilled home an equaliser five minutes after the break and then smashed a dipping drive past goalkeeper Alphonse Areola late on to seal the points.

Villa had cancelled out West Ham's early opener in the 10th minute with defender Konstantinos Mavropanos credited with an own goal but Jarrod Bowen put the hosts back in front.

Bowen thought he had given West Ham the lead again but had his effort ruled out for offside.

Victory lifted third-placed Villa to 33 points from 16 games, three behind leaders Arsenal, while West Ham's sixth home defeat of the season left them third from bottom with 13 points and in danger of spending Christmas in the relegation zone.

Rogers has forged his way into starting contention ahead of Jude Bellingham for England at next year's World Cup and performances like Sunday's will do his cause no harm at all.

He was the stand-out player for a Villa side who have now won 10 of their last 11 league games and who beat Arsenal last weekend to put themselves squarely in the title conversation.

"We know we can get back into any game and we have the fight to win it. To get the three points today is massive, it's a big win," Rogers said. "We play for each other and we know our tasks. We are in a good moment and we want to keep it going."

VILLA PART OF TITLE RACE

Villa had looked anything but serious title contenders though in a