West Ham has spent big in the transfer market to back its new coach, but the Hammers ultimately fell short in their opening match of 2024-2025.

Lucas Paqueta's penalty cancelled out an early opener from Villa debutant Amadou Onana, while Leon Bailey had struck the woodwork for the visitors too.

Substitute Duran, who was reportedly a target for the Hammers, would have the final say, neatly finishing off a team move to restore Villa's lead with 11 minutes of normal time remaining.

Villa's win takes it into the top four, while West Ham sits in 15th, albeit both teams will not be paying too much attention to the table just yet.

A trip to London Stadium to start the season was probably not what Villa fans were hoping for when they saw the fixture list, having seen their side lose each of its past nine Premier League trips to east London.

But Villa dug deep to end that run, getting its first away win against the Hammers since April 2011 when it won 2-1 at Upton Park.

Duran proved the hero in the end. He has scored six Premier League goals from just 616 minutes played in the competition, an average of one every 103 minutes; among players to have scored five or more Premier League goals, only Erling Haaland (85) averages a better minutes-to-goals rate.

Meanwhile, West Ham has lost its opening game 16 times in the Premier League, more than any other team in the competition's history.