Aston Villa 1-3 West Ham: Player ratings as Jesse Lingard bags debut double

A second half brace from Jesse Lingard and an eighth goal of the season from Tomas Soucek helped fire West Ham to a deserved 3-1 win at Aston Villa, closing the gap on Champions League qualification to just two points.

The Hammers made two changes from the side that lost to Liverpool at the weekend, opting to bring in Lingard for a full debut and Ryan Fredericks to help Vladimir Coufal nullify the threat of Jack Grealish.

The move turned out to be a tactical masterstroke as Lingard looked supremely sharp playing in the number 10 role, while Aston Villa captain Grealish struggled to wriggle free of his shackles.

West Ham had the better of the first half, and made their superiority count six minutes after the break when Soucek collected Said Benrahma's perfectly weighted through ball before rifling home past Emi Martinez from a tight angle.

Lingard made it two soon after, firing home with his weak foot after being played in on the left hand side, before Tyrone Mings acrobatically hooked an Antonio effort off the line.

Ollie Watkins reduced the arrears with just under ten minutes to go, before Lingard wrapped things up moments later - profiting from an Martinez error to round off a dream debut.

Enough of all that, eh, let's do some ratings!

Aston Villa player ratings

1. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Emi Martinez (GK) - 6/10 - Was his usual steady self in the first half, but should have done a lot better with Lingard's second. A busy man, making six saves.

Matty Cash (RB) - 6/10 - Unusually quiet throughout, finding his evening against a lively Benrahma challenging.

Ezri Konsa (CB) - 6/10 - Villa's backline looked vulnerable against West Ham's counter attacks, often seeing Konsa pulled out of position by Antonio's runs in behind Mings.

Tyrone Mings (CB) - 6/10 - Had a tough night against Antonio and Lingard, both of whom kept up the pressure throughout.

Matt Targett (LB) - 5/10 - Unable to maraud down the left like he usually does as West Ham bunched things up with a numerical overload.

2. Midfielders

Douglas Luiz (DM) - 6/10 - Quiet again in midfield as Villa struggled to penetrate West Ham's stoic midfield. Had difficulty tracking Lingard's movement.

John McGinn (CM) - 6/10 - Unable to get on the ball and dictate play. A quiet evening that was full of sideways and backwards passes.

Ross Barkley (CM) - 5/10 - Lacking match sharpness and looked off the pace throughout. Subbed with just over 20 minutes to go.

3. Forwards

Anwar El Ghazi (RW) - 5/10 - Ineffective and lost out to Cresswell on multiple occasions. No surprise to see him hooked at half-time.

Ollie Watkins (ST) - 7/10 - Movement was terrific as ever, striking the post with an effort in the first half before smartly taking his goal with just under ten minutes left.

Jack Grealish (LW) - 6/10 - Had absolutely no joy against the Coufal and Fredericks double act, switching over to the right to set up Watkins' goal. Frustrated.

4. Substitutes

Bertrand Traore (RW) - 5/10 - On at half time but unable to get involved as West Ham took charge in the second half.

Trezeguet (LW) - 6/10

West Ham player ratings

5. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Lukasz Fabianski (GK) - 6/10 - Had very little to do in goal, spending most of his time finding ways to keep warm. Did watch an Ollie Watkins effort flick his post in the first half and was irritatingly beaten at his near post late on.

Vladimir Coufal (RB) - 8/10 - Has an unbelievable engine on him and superbly marshalled Grealish. Another top notch display from a player who somehow cost just £5m.

Craig Dawson (CB) - 7/10 - Has played better in recent weeks but was still composed for the most part and quietened Watkins down after a bright opening.

Angelo Ogbonna (CB) - 7/10 - Never puts a foot wrong, setting a great example at the back with his composure. May feel he could have done more to prevent Watkins' goal.

Aaron Cresswell (LB) - 7/10 - Used to give you a heart attack playing in a back four, but is a completely rejuvenated character under Moyes. Dangerous going forward and positionally excellent heading towards his own goal.

6. Midfielders

Declan Rice (CM) - 6/10 - A relatively quiet display by Rice's standards but he kept things ticking over in midfield nicely.

Tomas Soucek (CM) - 7/10 - Another superbly taken goal, firing low into the corner past Martinez. A nuisance in the air as usual and broke up play when needed.

Ryan Fredericks (RM) - 7/10 - Teamed up nicely with Coufal to subdue Grealish. Offered pace and width going forward.

Jesse Lingard (AM) - 9/10 - A superb performance on his debut, shaking off any ring rust with a terrific two-goal showing. Plenty left in the tank, too, which is testament to his tremendous fitness.

Said Benrahma (LM) - 8/10 - Is getting better and better with each game, and influenced play by linking up smartly with Lingard. Seems to be developing a good understanding with Cresswell.

7. Forward

Michail Antonio (ST) - 7/10 - Two assists on the night for Antonio, who again showed a willingness to come short and run in behind. Could be smarter with some of his decision making, but also seemed to have nice chemistry with Lingard.

8. Substitutes

Jarrod Bowen (RM) - N/A

Pablo Fornals (AM) - N/A

Ben Johnson (LM) - N/A