PL roundup: Pressure piles up on Gerrard as Villa lose to Hammers, ASM saves Newcastle
Aston Villa - West Ham United 0-1
West Ham United celebrated their 1,000th Premier League game with a 1-0 victory away at Aston Villa, registering a fifth consecutive league triumph against the hosts and registering their first points of 2022/23 at the fourth attempt.
Although the Hammers were positioned at the foot of the table without a Premier League victory heading into this fixture, it was Villa manager Steven Gerrard feeling the pressure, being currently tipped by bookies to be the first manager sacked this campaign.
Yet, even with both sides aiming to hit form to get their respective season’s truly up and running, neither proved able to carve out any tangible openings in a closely contested start to the game.
However, when the contest did briefly open up with Villa on the front foot, Ollie Watkins found himself some space inside the area, but his close range header was denied by the hands of Lukasz Fabianski.
As the first half progressed, the visitors struggled to impose themselves in the search for a first league goal of 2022/23, though neither team were able to positively build any momentum in a poor-quality opening 45 minutes that was laden with fouls.
Villa did have the ball in the net before the break, but Lucas Digne's corner had already gone out of play before Ezri Konza had tapped the ball in from close range.
After the interval, David Moyes introduced Said Benrahma, who found the net in West Ham’s comfortable midweek victory over Viborg in the UEFA Europa Conference League, adding more firepower to his side.
Once the hosts’ initial second half pressure had fizzled out, the Hammers finally came to life and began to see more of the ball, which eventually saw Jarrod Bowen squander a glorious opportunity before the hour mark.
As West Ham pushed to break the deadlock, Villa managed to soak up increasing pressure, but their defence soon buckled when Pablo Fornals drilled a strike from 20 yards out, which deflected off Konsa, leaving Emiliano Martinez stranded.
The Londoners held on to take the three points back to the capital, and manager David Moyes will be elated with his side's win, and equally delighted that his own personal unbeaten record against Villa now extends to 13 games.
Meanwhile, further misery is heaped on Villa, as more questions will be asked of Gerrard’s future following a third PL defeat in four games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pablo Fornals (West Ham United)
Wolves - Newcastle United 1-1
Saint-Maximin scored a sensational 90th minute equaliser as Newcastle United’s unbeaten start to the season continued, salvaging a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.
Bruno Lage was looking for his side to build on a decent performance against Tottenham Hotspur, despite it ending in another defeat. Issues in the final third persisted, with clear-cut chances at a premium.
Raul Jimenez’s work-rate earned the hosts a huge chance to take the lead, as he won the ball back in the final third before delivering a perfect cross to find Matheus Nunes, but the midfielder somehow failed to hit the target.
Wolves’ response to struggling for openings in attack was to simply shoot from range, and rather inevitably their outlet for that was Ruben Neves.
The captain unleashed a rasping effort from outside the area, flying beyond Nick Pope at full stretch.
Eddie Howe’s men needed a turnaround, but found themselves without the considerable talents of Bruno Guimaraes and Callum Wilson, while record-signing Alexander Isak wasn’t yet available for selection.
Joe Willock impressed with his goalscoring acumen when he first joined the club, but was guilty of spurning a huge chance in the first half, somehow missing the target from close-range.
The Magpies shuffled their pack, opting against having a traditional centre-forward by replacing Chris Wood with Ryan Fraser as full-time approached.
Wolves’ stern rearguard was providing adequate protection for Jose Sa though, and they even added a second on the counter through Jiménez before VAR intervened to disallow the goal.
Just as it appeared Newcastle were out of ideas, Saint-Maximin pounced to equalise with a goal of the very highest quality.
Hwang Hee-Chan’s botched clearance dropped to the Frenchman on the edge of the box, and he punished him severely, striking a beautiful volley into the bottom corner.
A hammer-blow at the death extends Wolves’ miserable winless run in the league to 11, the longest winless run of any team still in the top-flight.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
