Player Ratings: Aston Villa 1-3 West Ham

Emi Martínez: 6/10

An out of character display saw the goalkeeper at fault for two opposition goals. The Argentinian will be keen to ensure that the performance against the Hammers was an anomaly in an impressive first season for his new club after a highly anticipated game against his former side next up on the docket.

Matty Cash: 6/10

The right back offered very little going forward on this occasion and his lack of defensive awareness allowed West Ham debutant, Jesse Lingard, to score his first two goals for the Irons.

Ezri Konsa: 6/10

A poor showing from the young defender and often struggled to deal with the presence of forward, Michael Antonio. Sloppy in possession and poor aerial dominance allowed West Ham to capitalize.

Tyrone Mings: 7/10

On this occasion, I believe it to be difficult to direct too much blame on the England international for any of the goals conceded in the game. Tyrone often found himself tasked with the responsibility of making a last-ditch tackle or clearing the danger, which he managed to do to some extent. Without Mings making a world class goal-line clearance, Villa could have been on the end of an even harsher scoreline.

Matty Targett: 7/10

The majority of Villa’s attacks this evening went down the flank occupied by the ex-Southampton man. Some good forward runs and overlaps saw him pick up the ball in a promising area, however, on this occasion the crosses into the box left Ollie Watkins isolated, failing to pick him out.

Douglas Luiz: 6/10

A clearly fatigued Luiz found the presence of Declan Rice and Tomáš Souček hard to marshal; often finding himself doubled up on and with little time to maneuver the ball forward. A poor day at the office for the Brazilian internationa,l having failed to anchor the defence with any real conviction.

John McGinn: 6/10

A disappointing outing tonight from the midfielder as he failed to live up to his usual determined displays. When finding himself in the final third, his decision making was often too slow as he lost possession or failed to pick out a teammate; leaving fans wondering if it is time for squad rotation to be considered.

Ross Barkley: 5/10

The Chelsea loanee failed to impress on this occasion, subsequently seeing his name being held aloft on the fourth officials board around the hour mark.

Jack Grealish: 7/10

The captain often found himself being crowded out of the game by the West Ham players, showing clear evidence they had focused on nullifying Jack’s opportunities to be able to carry the ball forward and create opportunities. However, the local lad still managed to produce a good assist with a perfectly executed pass, raising hopes of a comeback that was very quickly drowned out.

Anwar El Ghazi: 5/10

In an opportunity to impress after finding himself back in the starting eleven, the Dutchman will have done nothing to suggest to Dean Smith that he is ready to make that position his own. His performance began with tension and it went from bad to worse, eventually seeing himself substituted at half-time.

Ollie Watkins: 7/10

In a game where the opposition dominated the ball, Ollie Watkins once again found himself feeding off of scraps. It was evident to see that he was determined to win back possession and build some momentum for the home team with his tenacious running and closing down of the opposition defence. Although a scoreline he will not be too proud of, he claimed another Premier League goal with a finish that was very well taken.

(SUB) Bertrand Traoré: 7/10

(SUB) Trezeguet: 6/10

(SUB) Morgan Sanson: 7/10