37’ (pen)
Julen Lopetegui lost his first Premier League game in charge of West Ham, as Jhon Duran’s strike secured a 2-1 victory for Aston Villa at the London Stadium.
West Ham have spent big in the transfer market to back their new coach, but the Hammers ultimately fell short in their opening match of 2024-25.
How the match unfolded
Lucas Paqueta’s penalty cancelled out an early opener from Villa debutant Amadou Onana, while Leon Bailey had struck the woodwork for the visitors too.
Substitute Duran – who was reportedly a target for the Hammers – would have the final say though, neatly finishing off a team move to restore Villa’s lead with 11 minutes of normal time remaining.
Villa’s win takes them into the top four, while West Ham sit in 15th, albeit both teams will not be paying too much attention to the table just yet.
It took just four minutes for Onana to open his Villa account, shrugging off Michail Antonio at a corner to head home Youri Tielemans’ delivery from close range.
Villa should have got a second shortly after – Bailey snuck in behind the Hammers defence before rounding Alphonse Areola, only to strike the post of an empty goal from a tight angle.
Matty Cash’s clumsy challenge on Tomas Soucek provided West Ham with a lifeline as referee Tony Harrington awarded a penalty, with VAR confirming his decision. Paqueta then sent Emiliano Martinez the wrong way with the spot-kick.
Villa had chances to restore their lead after the restart, though Areola was on hand to scramble Morgan Rogers’ effort away before Duran fired wide instead of teeing up Jacob Ramsey for what could have been a tap-in.
But Duran made no mistake when it fell to him in the box a second time, calmly drilling a first-time finish beyond Areola, with Villa weathering a late West Ham flurry to clinch the points.
Club reports
West Ham report | Villa report
Match officials
Referee: Tony Harrington. Assistants: Scott Ledger, Matthew Wilkes. Fourth official: Andrew Kitchen. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Nick Hopton.
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