West Ham crush 10-man Villa, Leeds beat Norwich

West Ham United’s Declan Rice scored a fine goal from distance as the rampant Londoners breezed past Aston Villa 4-1 in their Premier League clash at Villa Park on Sunday to pile the pressure on home manager Dean Smith.

The result was West Ham’s third straight win in the league while it was the fourth consecutive loss for Villa, who are now just three points above the relegation zone.

West Ham hit the front in the seventh minute when full back Ben Johnson cut inside from the right and fired a brilliant left-footed shot into the far corner.

Jarrod Bowen almost doubled the lead minutes later from a rapid counter-attack before Villa equalised in the 34th through Ollie Watkins, who finished with aplomb following a reverse pass from Matty Cash.

West Ham, however, kept up the pressure and were rewarded when Rice restored their lead before halftime.

“We lacked intensity in the first 15 minutes. They scored a poor goal when we should have doubled up on Johnson when he cut inside… the response was good afterwards, the crowd could have got back into the game,” said Smith.

The home side’s hopes of a comeback suffered a blow when Ezri Konsa was sent off almost immediately after the restart for impeding Bowen who was clear on goal.

“It wasn’t a red card. The referee saw a still and in full time and thought the ball was going towards the goal. It amazes me, it wasn’t going towards the goal. And Ashley Young was covering,” added Smith.

Villa rallied valiantly and created a string of chances but were caught twice on the break, with Pablo Fornals and Bowen each finishing off slick counter-attacking moves and putting the game beyond Villa’s reach.

West Ham had goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to thank for his superb save to keep out a Watkins header with the score at 2-1.

“Getting four goals, the resilience we showed at different times of the game and the save Lukasz made at 2-1. It’s a good sign we can come here and be a bit disappointed with the way we played and get a result,” said West Ham manager David Moyes.

“It’s been a great week. But you know what happens in football. It can turn around and bite you… I don’t want West Ham to become that flaky inconsistent team a lot of people remember them as.”

Rice credited Moyes and said this was a special group of players. “It’s a special environment. We wake up looking forward to training. Every game, we’ve been in it until the end. It’s a special place to play. We’re over the moon,” said the England midfielder.

West Ham are fourth in the standings with 20 points — behind champions Manchester City on goal difference — after 10 games. Villa are 10 points adrift of the Hammers in 15th.

Leeds beat Norwich 2-1 to stay out of drop zone

Second-half goals from Raphinha and Rodrigo Moreno earned Leeds United a 2-1 win away at Norwich City in the Premier League on Sunday, keeping the visitors out of the relegation zone and the home side nailed to the bottom of the table after 10 matches.

Leeds stayed 17th on 10 points from as many games, three above 18th-placed Burnley, while promoted Norwich were left propping up the table on two points, still without a win.

Leeds Boss Marcelo Bielsa was relieved that his side ground out the win after an industrious performance, and he voiced his support for his Norwich counterpart Daniel Farke.

“A very important win given our position in the table, due to the results we have been obtaining that are not positive,” Bielsa told Sky Sports.

“The job of a coach has some very difficult things you have to live with. Especially with Norwich’s manager, he has shown a big spiritual fortitude and I hope he can come back from this situation.”

Rodrigo stressed how important it was for Leeds to get their first away win of the season.

“It is more than three points; we played against a team who is having a bad moment, like us,” the Spaniard said. “It is an important result and we are looking forward to the next game.”

A dull first half produced a solitary chance as Leeds forward Daniel James saw his shot cleared off the line by Grant Hanley while Norwich were reduced to a pair of tame long-range efforts by Teemu Pukki and Mathias Normann.

The contest sprang to life in a frantic four-minute spell after the break, with Rodrigo firing Leeds ahead in the 56th minute as he cut inside two defenders and drove in a low shot.

Norwich levelled two minutes later when 19-year old defender Andrew Omobamidele rose above his markers to beat Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier with a towering header which went in off the underside of the bar.

The home side’s joy was short-lived, however, as Rodrigo forced another twist on the hour mark with a swerving low shot which squeezed in under home keeper Tim Krul. Norwich pressed in the closing stages but failed to trouble the visitors.