Aston Villa underlined their title credentials by coming from behind twice to beat West Ham United 3-2 at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Unai Emery’s side were far from their sharpest, but their resilience and quality in decisive moments again proved enough.
West Ham struck inside the opening half-minute when Mateus Fernandes dispossessed Ezri Konsa and smashed a powerful finish beyond Marco Bizot from a tight angle.
Villa responded swiftly as pressure from Ollie Watkins forced Konstantinos Mavropanos into diverting John McGinn’s cross into his own net to restore parity.
The hosts regained the lead midway through the half when Jarrod Bowen reacted quickest to turn Freddie Potts’ volley past Bizot after Villa failed to clear.
Despite dominating possession, Villa produced a disjointed first-half display and managed just one effort on goal before the interval.
The momentum shifted five minutes after the restart when Youri Tielemans burst down the right and delivered a low cross that Morgan Rogers controlled calmly before steering into the bottom corner.
West Ham briefly thought they had reclaimed the lead when Bowen found the far corner, only for the offside flag to intervene.
The game opened up further as both sides chased a winner, and the tension inside the stadium grew.
Villa settled the game with 11 minutes remaining when Victor Lindelof’s pass released Rogers in space. He unleashed a stunning strike that dipped and swerved beyond Alphonse Areola.
The goal sparked wild celebrations from the visiting players and staff and summed up Villa’s growing belief during an extraordinary run of form.
Rogers’ double completed another second-half turnaround and lifted Villa to a ninth straight victory in all competitions.
The result moved them to within three points of leaders Arsenal and reinforced their position among the league’s front-runners as the season approaches its midway point.
The hosts remain in the bottom three, and their failure to protect two leads will heighten concerns ahead of a difficult run of fixtures.
