Jamie Carragher was impressed as Jacob Ramsey scored his first league goal since September 2023 to give Aston Villa an eighth-minute lead at home to West Ham on Sunday.
Ramsey completed an incisive one-two with Ollie Watkins before finding the far corner of Alphonse Areola’s net for his second goal of the season, having bagged in a 3-0 Champions League win at Young Boys.
“They’ve started sharply,” former England defender Carragher told Sky Sports. “They deserve that. It’s really good football, passing right through West Ham. A super goal from a super talent.”
Jacob Ramsey slices through the West Ham defence and Aston Villa are off to a flyer! 💥 pic.twitter.com/mHZQiKXsoQ
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 26, 2025
📰 Table Of Contents
Villa vs West Ham: Watkins denied
Villa thought they had scored a second along the same left-hand side two minutes later when Morgan Rogers tapped in Watkins’ pass.
The Three Lions striker was adjudged to have been offside, giving West Ham a reprieve and denying Watkins a 101st direct Premier League goal involvement.
After a torrid start, the Hammers improved once they had been given that let-off in their pursuit of revenge for their defeat at Villa on January 10.
On that occasion, Lucas Paqueta gave them a surprise ninth-minute advantage in Graham Potter’s first match in charge.
Amadou Onana, who was ruled out of Villa’s latest encounter with West Ham through injury, replied before Rogers produced the winner.
Picking out that side netting from a tight angle 📐 pic.twitter.com/MvrkPZR0kt
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 26, 2025
Premier League table
West Ham have played twice at London Stadium since then, winning 3-2 against Fulham and losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace on January 18.
Those results have left them 14th in the table, 10 points above the relegation zone and seven shy of the top half with the worst defensive record above the bottom four.
Villa began the day in eighth, helped by a run of six wins and four draws in their last 10 home league matches, although they lost 1-0 at Monaco on Tuesday.
A third victory on what would be a five-game unbeaten league run would put them a point behind Bournemouth and Chelsea, as well as two behind fourth-placed Manchester City.
