LONDON, CMC – Jamaica forward Leon Bailey came off the bench and scored his third goal to help Aston Villa wrap up a 4-1 win against West Ham in the English Premier League on Sunday.
Bailey struck in the 89th minute, and Villa completed their 11th successive league victory on home soil at Villa Park, their best run since winning 13 in a row when they were reigning European champions in 1983.
Douglas Luiz opened the scoring for Villa, and the Brazil midfielder also converted a penalty a little after half-time before a deflected shot from Jarrod Bowen led to a nervy spell for the hosts.
England striker Ollie Watkins then fired in his eighth goal of the season to restore the lead for Villa before Bailey formalised the result with his fifth goal overall for the club this season.
The result meant Villa continued their fine form under manager Unai Emery and moved into fifth in the table on 19 points from nine matches, putting them one point outside of the top four occupied by Manchester City on 21 points, Arsenal on 21, Liverpool on 20, and Tottenham on 20, with goal difference the decisive factor among them.
Tuesday will mark the anniversary of the appointment of Emery as Villa boss, and he has transformed the team since taking over from former Liverpool star Steven Gerrard, bringing them from the brink of relegation to European qualification and with an eye on a Champions League place.
Bailey hit Villa’s fourth after Youri Tielemans fed him the ball, and he showed neat footwork inside the box before curling inside the far post.
Luiz scored for a sixth league match running at Villa Park to give the home the lead on the half-hour when Nicolo Zaniolo cut the ball back for Watkins, who laid it off for the Brazilian to beat West Ham Alphonse Areola with a 20-yard strike into the bottom corner.
Luiz doubled the lead for Villa when he slotted a penalty down the middle in the 51st minute after Ezri Konsa had been fouled before Watkins, who scored his third goal for England during the international break, made no mistake after latching on to a long ball from John McGinn, firing inside the near post in the 74th minute.
In between, Bowen gave the Hammers hope with his 100th career goal for a league club, but the visitors were unable to avoid a third league defeat.
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