West Ham 1 Aston Villa 1
West Ham welcomed a wounded animal to the London Stadium. Aston Villa were still reeling from a heavy home defeat against Tottenham last weekend, needing to cement fourth place in the table. Fulham did Unai Emery’s side a huge favour as they beat Spurs at Craven Cottage.
The visitors started on the front foot as Bailey stretched The Hammers’ defence, finding Watkins in space. He got a quick shot away trying to catch Areola at the near post but the keeper got down well to make the save, at the expense of a corner.
Bailey cut inside from the wing and with Emerson fronting him up. The tricky winger scooped the ball up onto the arm of the defender, looking for a penalty. VAR reviewed the incident and decided there was no case to answer, for once, common sense prevailed.
Having absorbed the pressure. Soucek found Coufal out wide. The full back whipped a cross in behind the defence and Antonio met it with a diving header. The London Stadium went wild as his effort nestled into the bottom corner of the goal.
Credit: @premierleague
David Moyes’ side have got a taste for European football over the last couple of seasons. With a quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen looming, they want to ensure they secure a European spot with their league position again this season.
Into the second half, Bowen swung in a corner which Antonio headed home. Well, that is the way it seemed. As The Hammers celebrated their goal, VAR ruined the party as the goal was struck off. It had in fact struck his arm and not his head before ending in the back of the net.
The visitors continued to try and find a way back into the game, with Konsa having a sight of goal. His shot was too close to Areola who was able to make the block. West Ham would have to dig deep if they were to hold onto all three points.
A defensive error soon cost the hosts as Diaby got down to the byline. His vision allowed him to pick out the run of Zaniolo in the centre of the box for the Italian to slot home and draw Aston Villa level. Emery’s side felt they still had time to try and find a winner.
It was in fact West Ham who pushed for the winning goal. Ward-Prowse swung a free kick into the box where it was headed towards goal. As a melee of players scrambled on the floor for the ball, Mavropanos bundled the ball over the line.
The referee consulted his watch and pointed towards the halfway line. The London Stadium erupted as they thought they had scored a late winner. VAR reviewed the incident and disallowed the goal for a handball. The replay showed that Soucek had got the telling touch with his arm.
Credit: @premierleague
West Ham were left disappointed that they had let the win slip through their fingers, conceding the late equaliser. For Unai Emery’s side, it moved them a point further ahead of Tottenham but now the gap was only three points.
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