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Jesse Lingard rewarded David Moyes’s faith in rescuing him from his Manchester United slump with two debut goals in the win, meaning West Ham have achieved their highest points score in the top flight after 22 matches since 1985-86. .
When West Ham advanced to 38 points, just two behind fourth-placed Liverpool, Lingard, who signed on loan on Monday, provided signs of the spark that marked his promise early in his career against England coach Gareth Southgate.
Lingard had not started a Premier League match for 13 months, and had not appeared for his country since June 2019, but both goals were dispatched with the confidence to match his vivacious move. West Ham have won seven times in eight games in all competitions, as they responded perfectly to Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool.
Tomas Soucek had given West Ham the lead just after the break before Lingard’s first goal came in five minutes. Villa hit back when Ollie Watkins picked up Jack Grealish’s pass to make it 2-1, but Lingard sealed the win with seven minutes left for his manager to suggest that an international withdrawal is clearly possible.
“It was a brilliant debut,” Moyes said. “If he continues to play as well as tonight and continues to score two goals in every game, he will do very well for West Ham. I was going to say sadly, but if he continues to act like this he will also be pushing for England.
If you keep that way, it could be Gareth coming and knocking on your door again. He will have his own ambitions to show that he is at a level and tonight he showed a very good level. There are a lot of players who will push for the Euros and why shouldn’t Jesse be among them if he keeps playing like he did tonight?
Despite having only 179 minutes of cup action under his belt this season, Lingard took center stage, playing on the hole just behind Michail Antonio. West Ham balanced his sense of adventure by playing as a second right back, remembering Ryan Fredericks to offer additional security against Jack Grealish.
There was little to choose between the teams in the first half. Dean Smith admitted that his team fell below their usual pace, however, and his defense was poor, especially against the backlash early in the second half.
Antonio kept the ball up for Saïd Benrahma, impressing after his £ 20 million move from Brentford, to play a crafty ball down the inside right channel where Soucek guided his shot with his right foot low into the far bottom corner.
Despite having more than half an hour to chase the tie, Villa committed the men forward in a kamikaze fashion. West Ham broke the middle line with three players against Matty Cash and Douglas Luiz.
Benrahma fainted before Antonio, who made a good pass for Lingard to control with his first touch before scoring with the second. “We ended up in the counterattack,” lamented Villa’s coach. “Sunday League football, you wouldn’t do that.”
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Watkins retired a goal on a nice sliding shot from a Grealish pass with nine minutes remaining, but Lingard quickly secured the win after another good assist from Antonio.
“Three points is the most important thing,” said Lingard. “The team worked hard as a team and we are thinking about the next one against Fulham.
“I started tonight, I scored two goals and got three points. I smiled before the game and during. I just enjoy playing soccer. It has been a long time.”
Moyes was in an almost jovial mood and his team could be fourth before Liverpool take on Manchester City on Sunday. “Did you say the first four there?” he asked rhetorically. “We are in a really good position, but we will keep knocking on the door and see where it takes us.”
