Aston Villa kicked off the new Premier League season with a 2-1 win over West Ham in a game that had the potential to be tricky for Unai Emery’s side.
Amadou Onana got Aston Villa’s season up and running as the summer arrival headed home a Youri Tielemans corner after just four minutes.
West Ham grew into the game after that and were awarded a debatable penalty after Matty Cash clumsily challenged Tomas Soucek in the penalty area.
Lucas Paqueta converted the penalty on 37 minutes, but it was West Ham-linked Jhon Duran who had the final say in the game at the London Stadium as he fired an 80th-minute winner past Alphonse Areola in the Hammers’ goal.
- READ MORE: Jhon Duran now only behind Erling Haaland for impressive feat after Aston Villa winner v West Ham
Having started last season with a 5-1 defeat against Newcastle, Unai Emery will be very pleased to have secured three points to kick off the 2024/25 campaign.
Thomas Hitzlsperger praises Aston Villa style in West Ham win
It was a hotly-contested affair on Saturday evening, with both sides having European ambitions this season and keen to get their campaign started off with a win.
That resulted in an even game, but Villa had the better of the chances as West Ham only managed to force one save from Emi Martinez in goal.
- READ MORE: Aston Villa player ratings vs West Ham: 8/10 talent shines but 5/10 attacker fails to impress
The display certainly left one ex-Villan excited by what he saw, as Thomas Hitzlsperger reflected on the game he covered for Villa TV.
Hitzlsperger posted on ‘X’ post-match: “Impressed with the attacking style of play of this Aston Villa team. A joy to watch.”
Aston Villa will look to continue form against Arsenal next game
It’s a tough start to the new season for Villa, with West Ham followed by Arsenal at home and a trip to newly-promoted Leicester City before the first international break of the season.
However, with the first of those tests successfully negotiated, Emery and his players can turn their attention to welcoming an Arsenal side to Villa Park that they completed a league double over last season.
Emery seemed to have Arteta’s number last season, with the Gunners failing to even score a goal across the two fixtures and he will be keen to get one over on his former employers once more as Villa again play in the Saturday evening slot.
