Aston Villa enjoy best start for 25 years as Douglas Luiz continues to flourish

Aston Villa 4 West Ham 1

Unai Emery can celebrate his first anniversary in charge of Aston Villa on Tuesday safe in the knowledge that he has turned his team into genuine contenders to be considered among the best of the rest.

Only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have gained more wins over this period and, with Douglas Luiz continuing his unlikely conversion into a prolific goalscoring midfielder, Villa moved into a potential Champions League qualification place with their best start to a Premier League season in a quarter of a century.

Not since Dwight Yorke scored in eight successive top-flight home games in 1991 have Villa had such a prolific homebird as Douglas Luiz. Not bad for a holding midfielder whom Steven Gerrard was willing to offload last year.

Consistently backed by Boubacar Kamara in the heart of the midfield, Douglas Luiz has been granted more licence to support the attack alongside the likes of John McGinn and Nicolò Zaniolo, who was recalled as Villa reverted to a four-man defence. The Brazilian was rather typecast as a defensive midfield pivot in his early days at Villa Park, and was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal when deemed surplus to requirements here, but now Emery has unshackled a more complete player.

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[ Premier Division table ]

Villa and West Ham head into Europe on Thursday with their respective trips to AZ Alkmaar, in the Europa Conference, and Olympiakos, in the Europa League. But, winning their 11th successive home game in the Premier League, Villa look far more ready on this evidence to stay competing for a top-six finish.

They were superior for all but the 15 minutes after Douglas Luiz’s second goal made it 2-0 and it will be their supporters raising a glass of claret while the Hammers fans head back to London feeling blue.

Pau Torres started the move that culminated in Zaniolo playing a neat ball back inside the penalty area for Ollie Watkins. Although his first touch was sharp enough, the England striker could see his own eyeline to goal was blocked so laid the ball back to the edge of the 18-yard box. From there Douglas Luiz showed no hesitation in dispatching a crisp and low right-footed shot past Alphonse Areola despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to it.

It was good work from Zaniolo, the Italy playmaker recalled to the side that drew 1-1 at Wolves a fortnight ago. It has been a disconcerting international break for Zaniolo, on loan from Galatasaray, after he was withdrawn from his country squad to help the investigation into illegal betting activity, along with Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali. Zaniolo, however, has let it be known he will contest any claims he has betted on football.

Villa were fluent in the first half, well on top, and could have been ahead before Douglas Luiz’s first goal. Moussa Diaby’s superb shot was brilliantly, almost implausibly, tipped behind by Areola. And only Watkins will know how, having received Diaby’s pass on the half turn 10 yards out, he dragged his shot wide.

Before the interval, West Ham did not carry the look of a team competing for the three points that would take the winners of this game into fifth place in the Premier League.

In fact it took them until they went two goals behind to start displaying the spirit that has carried them to this relatively golden period. Perhaps it could be labelled West Ham’s bronze age: two top-seven finishes, banking £100 million for Declan Rice while steering away from relegation and winning the Europa Conference, and now eying the top end of the Premier League again.

Anyway, there were no medals on offer for the way they defended five minutes into the second half. They appeared to have cleared a corner when Lucas Paquetá's terrible pass backwards played Edson Álvarez into trouble and the Mexico anchorman tussled with Ezri Konsa. David Coote took a beat before pointing to the spot, from where Douglas Luiz chipped the ball down the middle to make it 2-0.

Perhaps this was the trigger West Ham required to start making a fight of it. They upped their intensity and soon reduced the deficit, Jarrod Bowen scoring with a shot that deflected heavily off Pau Torres to wrong-foot Emi Martínez in the Villa goal. The England winger can at least claim to have matched Thierry Henry (2001) and Mo Salah (2021) in scoring in his first five away games of a season, a Premier League record.

Matty Cash had to dive to head Nayef Aguerd’s volley behind as West Ham, briefly, threatened to extend their unbeaten run against these opponents to 11 Premier League meetings

Just as West Ham were starting to turn the screw, however, Villa regained their two-goal buffer. Mohammed Kudus miscontrolled the gift of a loose pass out of defence from Torres and McGinn promptly capitalised, immediately sending Watkins away down the inside-left channel with a pass that swerved enticingly into his path. One stepover later, with Kurt Zouma sent for a hot dog, Watkins walloped a left-footed shot into the near top corner to continue his resurgent trajectory.

Leon Bailey made it 4-1 in the 89th minute as he received Youri Tielemans’ neat pass, stepped inside Aguerd with rather too much ease, and shovelled his left-footed shot into the top corner. It is the first time since 1920 that Villa have scored at least three goals in each of their opening four home league games. On this form, it may not be the last time either. – Guardian