Morgan Rogers’ brilliant brace helped Aston Villa come from behind to secure a thrilling 3-2 victory over West Ham United at London Stadium.
The Hammers made a lightning-quick start as Mateus Fernandes netted the fastest goal in the Premier League this season, firing West Ham ahead after just 29 seconds.
Villa responded quickly, drawing level in the ninth minute when Ollie Watkins forced an own goal from Konstantinos Mavropanos, but Jarrod Bowen restored West Ham’s advantage midway through the first half.
From there, it became Rogers’ show. Villa’s talisman equalised in the 50th minute before completing the comeback with an excellent dipping strike from distance that sailed over a helpless Alphonse Areola in the 79th minute.
The win keeps Villa third in the table, three points behind leaders Arsenal, while West Ham remain 18th, two points adrift of safety.
How the match unfolded
Fernandes gave West Ham a dream start, cleverly nicking the ball off Ezri Konsa near the byline before firing past Marco Bizot into the top-right corner from a tight angle.
But their lead did not last long as Villa drew level via a dangerous cross from John McGinn, which was whipped towards Watkins, though Mavropanos got there first to inadvertently turn it into his own net.
The hosts restored their lead in the 24th minute, though, as Freddie Potts’ bouncing volley was smartly diverted past a diving Bizot by Bowen.
Villa remained determined and restored parity just five minutes into the second half, as Rogers cushioned Youri Tielemans’ far-post cross before swivelling to fire a fine finish into the bottom-left corner.
Bowen then thought he had put West Ham ahead for a second time when he latched on to a sumptuous through-ball and drilled into the bottom-right corner, only to be denied by the offside flag.
Rogers sealed the points in style with a brilliant strike from range 11 minutes from time, his right-foot effort dipping over Areola from nearly 25 yards out.
Watch: Rogers' two goals v West Ham
Unhappy century for Bowen
West Ham played out contrasting 1-1 draws in their last two outings, first coming back from behind to snatch a late point against Manchester United before falling to that very fate against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend.
Those results left Nuno Espirito Santo’s side precariously placed in the relegation zone ahead of kick-off, but they were handed an immediate lift from Fernandes’ strike – the fastest goal West Ham have ever scored in a Premier League match on record.
Despite Villa swiftly drawing level, the Hammers looked sharp on the counter-attack, exploiting the space in behind, including a slick first-half move that saw Bowen peel away from Konsa and drill a dangerous low pass across the face of goal that narrowly evaded Lucas Paqueta.
Bowen’s influence told soon after, as he restored West Ham’s lead and brought up his 100th Premier League goal contribution for the club in the process, becoming just the second player after Michail Antonio to do so.
The Hammers’ captain continued to pose a threat down the right wing in an inspired performance, but it was not enough as Rogers capitalised at the other end to condemn West Ham to their ninth defeat of the season.
Nuno will hope his side can regroup quickly after an encouraging performance as they travel to Manchester City next.
Villa’s determination knows no bounds
Unai Emery’s side took a massive step towards boosting their Premier League title ambitions in their previous outing, thanks to Emiliano Buendia’s last-gasp winner in their 2-1 victory over Arsenal.
That result was followed by a similarly clinical victory over FC Basel in the UEFA Europa League, leaving the Villans brimming with confidence as they showed their resilience once again.
Their momentum was halted very early on after a defensive lapse led to Fernandes’ opener, but as they have shown time and again, they do not give up easily.
While he might not have gotten on the scoresheet himself, Watkins marked his 200th Premier League appearance with an important contribution, with his pressure leading to the Mavropanos own goal that drew Villa level.
An end-to-end first half went West Ham’s way, but the Villans responded in style after the break, led by another stellar performance from Rogers.
After levelling the scores early in the second half, he teed up Donyell Malen for a powerful long-range effort that Areola could only parry, before completing Villa’s turnaround with a sublime strike from distance late on.
Rogers almost capped the performance with a hat-trick in stoppage time, flashing a low drive across the face of goal, rounding off a superb performance in Villa’s sixth straight win ahead of their meeting with Man Utd next weekend.
Club report
West Ham report | Villa report
What the managers said
Nuno Espirito Santo: "We did not control the game, we conceded from a ball that was ours. We scored but the negative is that we conceded three goals that really punished us.
"Today we are sad and it is painful for us and our fans that we did not win at home. We have to rectify the mistakes that we keep making in our defensive organisation. There is a long way to go and it is up to us to take care of that and get out of this situation."
Unai Emery: "The players are organised and disciplined in our structure tactically. They must show their quality in our game plan and today they showed it.
"We are not feeling under pressure. We are feeling ambitious and are trying to challenge in Europe and the Premier League. Enjoy each match, try to prepare, then rest. The players must feel comfortable doing it. This is the process we are doing. Now it is Manchester United [next Sunday]."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Villa have won 10 of their last 11 Premier League games (L1), including each of the last six in a row, their outright longest winning streak ever in the competition.
Bowen became the second player to reach 100 Premier League goal involvements for West Ham (61 goals and 39 assists), after Michail Antonio (101).
All nine of Rogers’ away Premier League goals for Aston Villa have either put them in the lead (three) or drawn them level (six).
This was the first Premier League game to see both sides score within the opening nine minutes since Spurs against Newcastle in January of last season (sixth minute).