Douglas Luiz scored twice to lead Aston Villa to a 4-1 victory over West Ham United on Sunday, moving the Midlands club into fifth place in the Premier League. Luiz scored one each on either side of halftime, his second from the penalty spot, to put Unai Emery’s team in command on their way to an 11th consecutive home league victory. Jarrod Bowen’s deflected shot gave the visitors hope, and they threatened to equalize before Ollie Watkins struck with an exquisite finish after a counter-attack.
Leon Bailey came off the bench to score a fantastic fourth goal late in the game after cutting in from the right. High-flying Villa is unbeaten in five league games and has 19 points from nine games, trailing leaders Manchester City by two points. West Ham currently sits in ninth place with 14 points.
Emery, a Spaniard, has been at Villa Park for almost a year and has transformed them from a team looking over their shoulders at the bottom three to a team capable of challenging at the top. They finished eighth last season to qualify for Europe and are capable of exceeding that this season. Villa’s performance at Villa Park has been critical to their recovery. They have scored 17 goals in four home league games this season, more than any other club in the top level, while surrendering only three.
West Ham were no match for the free-flowing Villa, save for a couple of spells on Sunday. Early on, Villa peppered West Ham’s goal, with Alphonse Areola making a brilliant stop to keep out a Luiz curler before Watkins squandered a good opportunity to open the scoring. In the 30th minute, the England striker made amends with an intelligent ball to Luiz, who struck a low shot past Areola.
Luiz is the first Villa player to score in six consecutive home Premier League games, and he extended their lead in the 51st minute after Ezri Konsa was fouled. Five minutes later, Bowen responded for West Ham when his drive deflected off Pau Torres and looped past goalie Emiliano Martinez.
West Ham looked dangerous for a while, but when Watkins was released by John McGinn’s long pass, the England forward sprinted into the area, blasting a shot into the top of the net, and West Ham’s resistance was broken. After cutting in from the right, Bailey joined the party with a beautiful curling finish with his left foot.
