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.
Real Madrid hit Twente for seven, five-star Wolfsburg also win big
Real Madrid had six different goalscorers as they trounced Twente 7-0 in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg beat Galatasaray 5-0.
Signe Bruun opened the scoring three minutes into the Group B encounter at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, then Maria Mendez's header gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead.
Madrid, who had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the tournament, got a third through Naomie Feller five minutes into the second half, then Caroline Weir made it 4-0 with a brilliant free-kick.
Mendez headed home her second of the encounter shortly after the hour mark, while Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho got on the scoresheet late on to complete the rout.
The victory took Madrid second in the Group B standings ahead of Chelsea's trip to Celtic.
Wolfsburg were also convincing victors in Group A, getting off the mark for this season's competition as Rebecka Blomqvist scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray.
The Bundesliga side – who failed to pick up a point or score a goal in their opening two matches – had a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time through Joelle Wedemeyer, before Blomqvist took centre-stage in the second period.
She tapped home after Janina Minge struck the crossbar, then added her second goal in the 77th minute and her third six minutes into stoppage time.
Vivien Endemann powered home a fifth for Wolfsburg one minute later, as they provisionally moved within three points of Lyon and Roma ahead of their meeting.
Amorim will 'change the energy' at Man Utd, says Fernandes
Ruben Amorim has been backed to "change the energy" at Manchester United by club captain Bruno Fernandes.
Amorim officially took the reins as United head coach on Monday, with Ruud van Nistelrooy having served as interim boss after Erik ten Hag was sacked last month.
The 39-year-old enjoyed a wildly successful four-year spell in charge of Sporting CP, which began in March 2020, two months after the Lisbon giants sold Fernandes to United.
Amorim delivered two Primeira Liga and two Taca da Liga trophies during his time at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, recording a 71% win rate through 231 matches at the helm (164 wins, 34 draws, 33 losses).
In the Primeira Liga, they won 77% of their games under him (120/156), the best win ratio of any team across Europe's top 10 leagues since he took charge.
Amorim's first game in charge of United will be a Premier League trip to Ipswich Town on November 24, and Fernandes has faith that he can change their fortunes.
"I hope he does the same here because you know sometimes a person can change the energy of a space, if it's the right moment," Fernandes told United's media channels.
"We hope this is the right moment for him to come and bring his energy, bring his qualities and his knowledge of football, because he's done something really, really special at Sporting.
"If someone doubts that, it's about just looking at the past. Sporting was to be about 20 years without winning the league, and he got back to win the league, and he won it two times in four years with a really youthful team, in a moment of change.
"So hopefully he can do the same here for us and [hopefully] it's going to be a successful time for all of us."
Amorim will become the youngest coach to lead United since a 33-year-old Wilf McGuinness took charge of them on Boxing Day 1970 against Derby County, and Fernandes believes one of his main strengths is his man-management style.
"Obviously for me, what stands out as I said to you is the connection he has with the players," Fernandes added.
"I've seen many, many moments where players were struggling and he kept his faith in them. He always goes to the press conference and defends his players.
"He had a really youthful team so they needed that and hopefully when he comes here he can do the same again with the youth.
"Us players with the most experience, we have to help him to get that and get the best out of every player at this club."
Aguero: City players must adopt Guardiola mentality to rediscover form
Manchester City all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero thinks that the players need to be more like manager Pep Guardiola if they are to continue their golden era.
Aguero's rallying cry came after City's fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions on Saturday, the first time Guardiola has gone this long without a victory in his career.
The Citizens have lost four straight games for the first time since August 2006, when Stuart Pearce was manager of the club and are 11 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League.
But despite their recent run, the Argentine, who 260 times in 390 appearances for City, is confident that his former side can finish the season with more silverware.
"I think City are favourites to win everything, including the league, the [FA] Cup, the Club World Cup and the Champions League," he told Sky Sports News.
"Whatever City has to play for, they'll be the firm favourites. I think it all depends on the mentality they have because it's not easy to always be the favourites."
Last season, City became the first team in history to win four consecutive Premier League titles but, with their form taking a dip and Guardiola out of contract at the end of the season, there is the potential for instability at the Etihad.
But, according to Aguero, their manager is the key to their past and future success.
That frame of mind is understandable, given that Guardiola is the most successful Manchester City manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies – 50% of the major honours in the club's history – with a win percentage of 72%.
"I think City are where they are because Guardiola knows very well how to keep that mentality," Aguero said.
"For me, he's the key man for the club so that the players have the same winning mentality.
"Sometimes it gets difficult to win and it's normal, but Pep's team has been up there since he took charge, and that's something many people don't see.
"I think we have to acknowledge he's the reason his players have a winning mentality. He's strict and he makes the team be consistent every single game throughout the season.
"We should take our hats off because it's not easy to be there with the players every day, especially considering the players we're talking about.
"All the time, he's like, 'come on, we have to keep winning!' Living that every day can get exhausting sooner or later, but he's been doing this for days, months, even years, and I think that's why City are one of the favourites because Pep never rests and he never gives a rest to his players.
"That, for me, is the key to success for any team."
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