West Ham United’s hopes of securing Premier League survival took a hit on Sunday afternoon, as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
Despite reaching the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, courtesy of a 3-0 aggregate win over Lille, Villa’s domestic slump significantly compromised their hopes of securing another Premier League top-four finish.
Unai Emery’s underperforming side had lost three consecutive league matches before this afternoon’s kick-off, including a 3-1 defeat at fellow top-four rivals Manchester United last Sunday.
Villa’s recent woes suggested West Ham could halt a seven-match winless run in this fixture and strengthen their effort to avoid relegation, which would be a disaster for a team that won the UEFA Conference League only three years ago.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s charges commenced this round inside the bottom three, albeit level on points with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest and only one adrift of Tottenham Hotspur.
With Spurs and Forest facing each other in North London, this was a unique opportunity for the Irons to escape from the danger zone ahead of the international break.
However, the match could not have started any worse for the visitors, as John McGinn slotted home a perfectly-placed first-time shot from the edge of the box to put Villa in front in the 15th minute.
Despite desperately needing points to bolster their survival chances, West Ham produced a disappointing first-half performance, failing to make a single attempt on target while generating a dismal 0.16 xG.
Axel Disasi, who revealed his happiness in London at [the press conference](https://www.whufc.com/en/news/disasi-or-im-lucky-because-i-feel-part-of-something-and-loved), was one of the reasons Espirito Santo’s side entered the half-time break trailing Villa by a goal, putting in a commanding display at the back to nullify the hosts’ attacking threat.
Unlike the Chelsea loanee, Konstantinos Mavropanos struggled to contend with Ollie Watkins and nearly committed a penalty, but referee Paul Tierney overturned his initial decision after a VAR review.
Villa’s wastefulness in the first half offered the London side a lifeline, yet the second half started in the same vein, with Ross Barkley forcing a superb save from Mads Hermansen.
West Ham slowly grew into the context and started creating chances, with second-half substitutes Adama Traore and Callum Wilson putting Villa’s fragile backline to the test, albeit without the end product.
And when it looked like the visitors were close to taking control of the game, the Lions extinguished their comeback hopes, largely thanks to Hermansen’s disjointed reaction.
Morgan Rogers made a feeble attempt from the edge of the penalty area, having been left unmarked in a promising position. Though it was supposed to be a routine save for the 25-year-old goalkeeper, he fumbled the ball, allowing Watkins to latch onto the rebound and double Villa’s lead.
Watkins’ goal put the Hammers in a near-impossible situation, with just over 20 minutes left on the clock.
Completely bereft of confidence, West Ham couldn’t spring a late response, as Villa comfortably saw out the remainder of the match to secure a much-needed victory.
As a result of a second defeat in their last three away league games, West Ham will spend the international break in the bottom three, only a point behind Tottenham, who lost to Forest.
Espirito Santo has seven games left to engineer a late push for survival, as the Irons stare down the barrel of their first relegation to the Championship since the 2011/12 season.
On the bright side, the former Forest boss will have a fortnight to rally his troops and prepare West Ham for what promises to be a nerve-shredding season finale.
The Irons return to action on April 10 with a must-win home clash against relegation-bound Wolverhampton Wanderers.