Ukraine international Andriy Yarmolenko was emotional as he scored the opener against Aston Villa in his first West Ham appearance since the outbreak of war in his native country.
The 32-year-old brought an otherwise disappointing game to life when he controlled Said Benrahma’s pass with his right foot before firing past Emiliano Martinez with his left.
Substitute Yarmolenko, who replaced Michail Antonio in the second half, shed tears as he dropped to his knees in celebration.
He was welcomed on to the field with a warm reception from both sets of supporters, and some Aston Villa fans even applauded as he was embraced by his team-mates for the goal.
The Hammers were lifted after taking the lead and Pablo Fornals sealed victory when he powered Benrahma’s cutback past Martinez.
Villa arrived in the capital off the back of three impressive wins but they had to settle for a Jacob Ramsey consolation late on.
The visitors were denied taking the lead when Danny Ings’ effort was tipped onto the post by Lukasz Fabianski before the ball came harmlessly back to the West Ham goalkeeper.
Victory for the hosts ended a run of three defeats in all competitions and lifted them to fifth in the table, while Villa remain ninth.
Yarmolenko makes the difference
In a first half with few clear cut chances, Yarmolenko’s introduction in the 51st minute sparked the crowd and the game into life.
The Ukraine forward replaced Antonio to a warm ovation and immediately set about linking up his side’s play.
Then the moment of brilliance came when he neatly brought down Benrahma’s tricky pass before guiding the ball into the far corner in two movements.
Football will have been secondary for Yarmolenko since Russia’s invasion of his country and, in that small moment of adulation, he allowed the emotion to spill out.
Having been boosted by the goal, the forward then opted to take on another shot from a tight angle rather than look for the pass, but no-one in the London Stadium was complaining at his choice.
Fornals fired the second which put the game out of reach but Villa rallied late on as they tried to wrestle back momentum.
Ramsey smashed Emiliano Buendia’s pass into the net with aplomb after the latter had a good opportunity kept out by the impressive Fabianski.
Steven Gerrard will be pleased by his side’s intent after going behind as they managed more shots on target (seven) than their hosts (four), but they lacked the clinical edge that has seen them score nine unanswered goals in their last three matches.
Player of the match
YarmolenkoAndriy Yarmolenko
West Ham United
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Squad number7Player nameYarmolenkoAverage rating
8.77
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Squad number41Player nameRiceAverage rating
7.68
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Squad number22Player nameBenrahma
Average rating7.36
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Squad number8Player nameFornals
Average rating7.34
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Squad number28Player nameSoucek
Average rating7.13
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Squad number1Player nameFabianski
Average rating7.10
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Squad number10Player nameLanzini
Average rating7.05
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Squad number24Player nameFredericks
Average rating6.95
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Squad number15Player nameDawson
Average rating6.94
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Squad number31Player nameJohnson
Average rating6.93
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Squad number3Player nameCresswell
Average rating6.89
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Squad number23Player nameDiop
Average rating6.85
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Squad number9Player nameAntonio
Average rating6.80
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Squad number4Player nameZouma
Average rating6.10
Aston Villa
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Squad number7Player nameMcGinn
Average rating6.91
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Squad number23Player namePhilippe Coutinho
Average rating6.86
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Squad number41Player nameJ Ramsey
Average rating6.51
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Squad number11Player nameWatkins
Average rating6.24
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Squad number1Player nameMartínez
Average rating6.16
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Squad number20Player nameIngs
Average rating6.00
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Squad number16Player nameChambers
Average rating5.96
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Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz
Average rating5.96
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Squad number2Player nameCash
Average rating5.94
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Squad number5Player nameMings
Average rating5.75
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Squad number27Player nameDigne
Average rating5.63
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Squad number18Player nameYoung
Average rating5.47
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Squad number10Player nameBuendía
Average rating5.36
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Squad number31Player nameBailey
Average rating5.16
Line-ups
West Ham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Fabianski
- 31Johnson
- 15Dawson
- 4Zouma
- 3CresswellSubstituted forFredericksat 57′minutes
- 28Soucek
- 41Rice
- 8Fornals
- 10LanziniBooked at 44mins
- 22BenrahmaSubstituted forDiopat 87′minutes
- 9AntonioSubstituted forYarmolenkoat 52′minutes
Substitutes
- 7Yarmolenko
- 13Areola
- 16Noble
- 23Diop
- 24Fredericks
- 26Masuaku
- 33Král
- 40Oko-Flex
- 64Perkins
Aston Villa
Formation 4-1-2-1-2
- 1Martínez
- 2Cash
- 16Chambers
- 5Mings
- 27DigneSubstituted forYoungat 10′minutes
- 6Douglas LuizSubstituted forBuendíaat 79′minutes
- 7McGinn
- 41J Ramsey
- 23Coutinho
- 11Watkins
- 20IngsSubstituted forBaileyat 69′minutes
Substitutes
- 4Konsa
- 8Sanson
- 10Buendía
- 15Traoré
- 18Young
- 25Olsen
- 31Bailey
- 33Chukwuemeka
- 47Iroegbunam
- Referee:
- Jarred Gillett
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, West Ham United 2, Aston Villa 1.
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Second Half ends, West Ham United 2, Aston Villa 1.
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Goal! West Ham United 2, Aston Villa 1. Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Emiliano Buendía.
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Attempt saved. John McGinn (Aston Villa) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
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Attempt saved. Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Leon Bailey with a cross.
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Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Lukasz Fabianski.
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Substitution, West Ham United. Issa Diop replaces Saïd Benrahma.
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Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Calum Chambers (Aston Villa).
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Goal! West Ham United 2, Aston Villa 0. Pablo Fornals (West Ham United) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Saïd Benrahma following a fast break.
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Attempt saved. Leon Bailey (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Philippe Coutinho.
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Attempt missed. Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Tomas Soucek with a headed pass.
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Attempt missed. Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa) header from the right side of the six yard box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Ashley Young with a cross following a corner.
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Substitution, Aston Villa. Emiliano Buendía replaces Douglas Luiz.
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Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Andriy Yarmolenko.
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Attempt blocked. Philippe Coutinho (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Douglas Luiz.
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Foul by Declan Rice (West Ham United).
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Leon Bailey (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Tomas Soucek.
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Attempt blocked. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jacob Ramsey.
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