West Ham arrived here on a quest for the victory that would have lifted them to the third in the table but ended up rather relieved to take a point. They did not deserve more. Nor did Aston Villa, and that can only be a frustration to the hosts, who spent the last half an hour mostly failing to trouble 10 men after Arthur Masuaku was sent off.
William McGregor, who is commemorated with a statue outside Villa Park, would have felt a powerful sense of vindication were he still around in the flesh, as the atmosphere of giddy anticipation in the stadium before kick-off offered the latest evidence of the success of the league that the former Villa chairman founded in the 19th century. The stakes have rather changed since then, though, even if folks’ yearning for thrills remains essentially the same; so Villa’s manager, Dean Smith, went into this knowing he needed to demonstrate that his team, which has been expensively remodelled since promotion, are finding their feet quickly in the top flight.
Written by Paul Doyle at Villa Park
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/sep/16/aston-villa-west-ham-united-match-report under the title “Arthur Masuaku sees red as West Ham hold out for a point at Aston Villa”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
