West Ham 2-1 Aston Villa

Ollie Watkins was denied an injury-time equaliser by VAR as dominant Aston Villa fell to a 2-1 defeat against West Ham United at London Stadium.

Watkins, who sent a second-half penalty against the crossbar, thought he had registered a 91^st-minute leveller only to see his close-range strike ruled out for offside by the slimmest of margins.

Angelo Ogbonna had earlier nodded the Hammers into a second-minute lead only for Villa captain Jack Grealish to level midway through the first half with a deflected 20-yard strike, his fifth Premier League goal of the season.

But Jarrod Bowen’s deft header just seconds into the second half proved the difference between the two sides as Villa, who created a host of openings and enjoyed the bulk of possession, saw their 100% away record this season come to an end.

Dean Smith’s side will be looking to bounce straight back on Friday night when they play host to Newcastle United.

The Villa head coach made one change to his starting XI, Conor Hourihane replacing the injured Ross Barkley to register his 150^th appearance for the club.

But Villa, making their first return to West Ham since securing top-flight survival in dramatic fashion on the final day of last season, found themselves 1-0 down with the opening two minutes as Ogbonna rose highest to head home Bowen’s corner, which came after Matt Targett had done well to block Tomas Soucek’s shot.

Trezeguet saw an effort deflected wide in the 18^th minute before Ezri Konsa headed over from the subsequent corner and Hourihane’s free-kick tested Lukasz Fabianksi as Villa responded positively.

And the visitors deservedly drew level midway through the first half as Grealish received the ball from Matty Cash, surged towards the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a long-range strike past Fabianksi.

Neat interchange almost resulted in a second in the 37^th minute but Watkins could only fire his shot narrowly wide from 10 yards before Hourihane sent a free-kick into the side-netting as the scores remained level at the break.

Yet the Hammers, as they did in the first half, found the net almost immediately after the restart, Bowen sending a deft flicked header past Emi Martinez from substitute Said Benrahma’s cross.

John McGinn saw a shot blocked by Aaron Cresswell before Trezeguet was denied by Fabianksi from close range.  

Villa continued to push for a leveller and were awarded a golden opportunity when Trezeguet had his shirt pulled in the area by Hammers skipper Declan Rice, yet Watkins could only watch as his spot-kick rebounded off the crossbar.

And the Villa frontman was left even more frustrated in added time as his close-range finish was ruled out, leaving Smith’s side empty handed in the capital.

Villa: Martinez, Cash (Elmohamady 88), Konsa, Mings, Targett, McGinn, Luiz, Hourihane (Traore 74), Trezeguet (El Ghazi 74), Watkins, Grealish (c).

Subs: Steer, Taylor, Nakamba, Ramsey.