Aston Villa came back down to Earth with a bump after their winning run was brought to an end by West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.
Andriy Yarmolenko and Pablo Fornals scored two second-half goals before Jacob Ramsey notched a consolation for Villa as the clock struck 90 minutes.
It was an evenly contested match for the majority with little to nothing separating the two teams in terms of quality.
Whilst the result was ultimately a disappointing one for Villa, the positive signs were aplenty when you take into consideration the strength of the opposition.
The Hammers are at a level that Steven Gerrard wants to take this Villa side to, competing regularly on the European stage. He noted this prior to the game as a ‘long-term goal’ for the claret & blue but on Sunday’s showing, it’s one that could prove to be a reality much sooner than that.
All isn’t lost in defeat and with that said, here’s our player ratings from the London Stadium.
West Ham United (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Johnson, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell (57’ Fredericks); Soucek, Rice; Fornals, Lanzini, Benrahma (87’ Diop); Antonio (52’ Yarmolenko)
Subs not used: Masuaku, Kral, Perkins, Areola, Noble, Oko-Flex
Aston Villa (4-1-2-1-2): Martinez; Cash, Chambers, Mings, Digne (10’ Young); Luiz (79’ Buendia); McGinn, Ramsey; Coutinho; Ings (69’ Bailey), Watkins
Subs not used: Konsa, Olsen, Sanson, Chukwuemeka, Iroegbunam, Traore
1. Emi Martinez - 7
Made a superb save from Kurt Zouma to keep the game at 0-0. Couldn’t do anything about either goal.
2. Matty Cash - 6
A tough day for Cash who struggled to have the same effect as he has in previous games. Photo: Shaun Botterill
3. Tyrone Mings - 7
Was effective in both boxes and put in an all round solid performance. Didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. Photo: Eddie Keogh
4. Calum Chambers - 6
Great first-half but made a few mistakes after the break. Nothing costly it was just a theme across the majority of the team.