West Ham earn their first win of the season as Pablo Fornals’ deflected second-half strike gave them victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Villa had a first-half goal disallowed with Lucas Digne’s corner having gone out of play before Ezri Konsa tapped the ball home.
West Ham improved in the second half and could have opened the scoring when Jarrod Bowen broke away on the counter, but the winger was denied by a well-timed Digne tackle.
But 16 minutes from time, Fornals’ shot struck Konsa and looped over Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and proved enough to kick-start the Hammers’ season.
The win lifts West Ham off the foot of the table and up to 17th, level on points with Villa in 16th.A third defeat of the season will only add to the pressure on Villa boss Steven Gerrard, whose side were booed at full-time.
Credit: bbc.com
