West Ham moved into the English Premier League top four with a hard-fought 4-1 win away at 10-man Aston Villa on Sunday evening. 

The match got off to a lively start with three goals scored in the opening half before two late on.

Benjamin Johnson, Jarrod Bowen, Declan Rice, and Pablo Fornals scored for the visitors, while Ollie Watkins grabbed the consolation for the hosts.

Villa were then forced to play the last 40 minutes with a man less after Ezri Konsa was shown a straight red card.

West Ham got the first chance of the game in the seventh minute and they took it well as Johnson weaved his way past opponents, and unleashed a magnificent effort from the edge of the box into the bottom left corner.

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The Hammers then came close again in the 17th minute when Jarrod Bowen went for goal but his shot was well blocked.

It was all square just after the half-hour mark as Buendia produced a sweet pass and picked out Watkins inside the box.

He quickly took a shot that went into the middle of the net and left the goalkeeper helpless.

West Ham appealed for a penalty in the 38th minute when Michail Antonio went over inside the penalty box, but the referee could not listen to their penalty appeals.

It was 2-1 though moments later as Rice received a brilliant pass and fired a powerful long-range daisy-cutter into the bottom left corner.

The hosts started the second half on the wrong footing as they were reduced to 10 men five minutes into the period when Konsa was shown a straight red card.

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West Ham then controlled the match, even though for long periods it seemed like the first-half goals were enough to decide the clash.

This however changed 10 minutes from time as Fornals tapped home from almost on the goal line after a lucky rebound fell at his feet.

Bowen then made it 4-1 in the 84th minute as he steered home a Manuel Lanzini ball to ensure maximum points for the Hammers.

The win saw West Ham move fourth in the standings on 20 points, same as Manchester City in third.

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