Aston Villa maintained their Champions League charge with a thumping 4-1 win over West Ham.
Douglas Luiz’s brace, including a second-half penalty, plus goals from Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey moved them to fifth in the Premier League – just two points off top spot.
Jarrod Bowen’s deflected effort made it 2-1 but the hosts recovered for Watkins to smash in a crucial third before Bailey wrapped things up late on.
The Hammers, now five points adrift of Villa, slipped to just a third defeat of the season after struggling to match the hosts.
Villa had waited long enough for a victory over the Hammers, their bogey side.
They had recorded just one win in the last 10 years, a 1-0 victory when Villa were already on the slide in 2015, but under Unai Emery they are a different beast, having earned 10 straight home league wins for the first time in 30 years coming into this match.
Emery put his faith in Nicolo Zaniolo, starting while he assists the Italian authorities in their investigation into alleged illegal betting activity.
A Sunday afternoon slumber hung over Villa Park in the opening stages but it was roused when Alphonse Areola brilliantly turned Luiz’s 25-yard effort wide.
It was a stunning save from the West Ham goalkeeper but he should have been beaten five minutes later.
Moussa Diaby’s pass evaded Kurt Zouma for Watkins to turn Vladimir Coufal. The hard work done, the striker had just Areola to beat but dragged inches wide from 12 yards.
The momentum was with Villa so there was little surprise when they went ahead after 30 minutes.
Zaniolo and Watkins linked on the left with the England striker collecting a cute return pass to tee up Luiz on the edge of the box and he drilled low past Areola.
In scoring, the midfielder became the first Villa player to net in six straight home matches in the Premier League.
The hosts deserved their lead, Watkins close to doubling it two minutes later when he grazed the side-netting, and West Ham were too compliant as Diaby, Watkins and Zaniolo caused problems.
Villa were slicker than the Hammers, who waned in the last third with a final ball missing and Michail Antonio haphazard.
Any hopes of a comeback rested on a strong start to the second half but, instead, the Hammers self-destructed after 51 minutes to gift Villa total control.
There was little danger when the Hammers looked to play their way out in the corner but Lucas Paqueta’s wretched pass put Edson Alvarez in trouble.
Ezri Konsa darted ahead and Alvarez clattered the defender to concede a penalty which Luiz coolly converted.
It looked like a Villa cruise but the visitors pulled a goal back out of the blue five minutes later when Bowen’s shot from 25 yards clipped Pau Torres and rolled in the corner.
The rarely-seen jitters returned to Villa Park and Matty Cash headed Nayef Aguerd’s strike over before turning Antonio’s dangerous cross behind.
Yet Villa ended any hopes of a recovery with 16 minutes left. The Hammers had the hosts on the ropes briefly but were caught out by John McGinn’s long ball to Watkins.
The striker, fresh from his winner for England against Australia during the international break, still had plenty to do but sold a dummy to Zouma before drilling into the roof of the net from an angle.
Substitute Bailey then wrapped up the points with a minute left, collecting Youri Tielemans’ pass, sidestepping Aguerd and finding the top corner.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with AC Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to AC Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A, but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
Schwarz believes pressure will bring out the best in Red Bulls
New York Red Bulls head coach Sandro Schwarz says pressure is good for players as they prepare to face rivals New York City FC in the MLS Eastern Conference semifinal.
The Red Bulls beat defending MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew 1-0 in the first of their best-of-three series before edging them 5-4 on penalties in Game 2.
They are playing in the semifinals for the first time since 2018, though it is the first time they are meeting their city rivals in the postseason in their history.
Schwarz acknowledged there was a lot riding on this game but is sure the pressure can bring out the best in his team.
"To feel the pressure as a player and head coach is good," he told reporters. "We need the pressure to bring our best performance and level.
"Without pressure, it's not possible. Now we have this historic derby on Saturday and we're very excited.
"Our main target is to win this game, but our focus is to get a result like we had against Columbus. The last three weeks have been looking at how we can create our best performance for Saturday."
Meanwhile, NYCFC had to come from behind in round one after losing their first match to FC Cincinnati but won the second at home before going through with a 6-5 penalty shootout win in the decider.
Head coach Nick Cushing is delighted to have home advantage for the semifinal tie but says he is not yet thinking about securing the same fate in the next round.
"I've learned over my tenure here as assistant coach and as head coach that the next game is the most important part," Cushing said.
"The whole focus is hosting a playoff semifinal at home. We're really proud that we've done everything to get to this opportunity, but there are many more challenges ahead, and we cannot look further than the first 10 minutes of the game, because that is our main focus.
"And then, through there, we have a game plan and half-time. We're working through this game, and that is our whole focus."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York City FC – Alonzo Martinez
Twelve of Alonzo Martinez's 17 goals this season (regular season and playoffs) have been scored in home matches, while Santiago Rodriguez has scored 11 of his 13 goals at home.
Both players found the net in NYCFC's home win over Cincinnati in Game 2 of their first-round series.
New York Red Bulls – Emil Forsberg
Emil Forsberg became the 14th different Red Bulls player to record a goal and an assist in a single playoff match in Game 2 of New York's first-round series against Columbus Crew.
No player has more than one such game in the team's postseason history.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK CITY FC WIN
This will be the first playoff meeting between New York City FC and the Red Bulls, but the fifth in knockout rounds in all competitions.
The Red Bulls eliminated NYCFC in each of the previous four knockout round meetings, doing so in the US Open Cup three times and the Leagues Cup once.
NYCFC has won five of their eight all-time home playoff matches, including the last three in a row. All three teams that defeated NYCFC on the road in the playoffs went on to reach the MLS Cup Final (Toronto FC in 2016 & 2019, Atlanta United in 2018).
The Red Bulls' 1-0 win at Columbus in Game 1 on October 29 ended a six-match road losing streak in postseason play for the club. The Red Bulls have won multiple road playoff games in a single season twice before, doing so in 2008 and 2017.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
New York City FC – 46.5%
Draw – 26.5%
New York Red Bulls – 27%
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