West Ham United have taken the lead over Aston Villa through deputy right-back Ben Johnson.
The Hammers headed to Villa Park this afternoon on the back of a memorable victory over arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Villa have been struggling this season to date, with the departure of captain Jack Grealish hitting the Midlands club hard.
As a result, you had to consider David Moyes’ men favourites heading into the fixture.
It took just seven minutes for the visitors to find the breakthrough, and what a way for it to come about.
Reserve right-back Ben Johnson, who is deputising for Vladimír Coufal, who has been injured, netted only his second ever Premier League goal to break the deadlock early on.
Declan Rice spread the ball wide to the right-channel, with Johnson showing commendable positivity and driving at Aston Villa left-back Matt Targett.
The 21-year-old cut inside onto his left foot and struck the ball along the ground and into the bottom corner – before celebrating in some style!
What a start for West Ham! ?
Ben Johnson puts the visitors ahead with a lovely left-foot finish! ?#AVLWHU pic.twitter.com/5aB3Nor8xM
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 31, 2021
Pictures courtesy of Canal+