Aston Villa’s UCL hangover continues with draw against Hammers

Aston Villa faced another Champions League hangover, drawing 1-1 against West Ham.

Jacob Ramsey scored early at Villa Park, but Emerson Palmieri equalized with a second-half header.

Consequently, Villa has failed to secure a Premier League win following their last six European matches.

This match represented a significant opportunity to narrow the gap to the top four.

However, the sight of Tyrone Mings leaving the pitch in tears after a knee injury raised further concerns.

Remarkably, this marked his 10th appearance since returning from a lengthy ACL recovery.

Despite Mings’ injury, Villa started strong, creating several chances early on.

Unfortunately, his withdrawal altered the match’s momentum, allowing West Ham to feel unfortunate for not securing their first away victory under Graham Potter.

The hosts, following a midweek trip to Monaco, surged into an eighth-minute lead.

Ramsey effortlessly executed a one-two with Ollie Watkins, darting past Vladimir Coufal before finishing into the far post.

Consequently, Watkins became the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League goal involvements since 2020.

Villa soon had another goal, with Morgan Rogers tapping in from close range, but it was disallowed for offside.

Leon Bailey then shot directly at Alphonse Areola, while Youri Tielemans dragged a subsequent attempt wide.

In the 35th minute, Aston Villa nearly doubled their lead when Tielemans delivered a free-kick for Watkins, whose header narrowly missed the target.

Subsequently, Mings left the pitch after attempting to continue playing through his injury, visibly upset as he departed.

The first half concluded chaotically, with Lucas Digne surviving a VAR check for violent conduct after minimal contact with Lucas Paqueta.

West Ham started the second half energetically, with Paqueta skewing an effort wide before a significant opportunity arose on the hour mark.

Emiliano Martinez mishandled a cross from Mohammed Kudus after colliding with Matty Cash.

Fortunately, Ezri Konsa made a crucial goalline block to deny Carlos Soler’s angled shot.

Ten minutes later, Edson Alvarez assisted Emerson, who powered a header past Martinez, leveling the score.

Villa appeared disorganized, with Tomas Soucek missing a good opportunity by heading over the bar.

Danny Ings nearly clinched victory against his former club, shooting just inches wide in the 82nd minute.

Meanwhile, Paqueta had a late goal disallowed for offside, sealing the draw.

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