Premier League 2025-26: Rogers shines as Aston Villa beats West Ham United; Sunderland edges Newcastle United

Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers bagged a double as the visitor twice came from behind to win 3-2 at West Ham United to remain in the thick of the Premier League 2025-26 title race on Sunday.

Villa conceded after 29 seconds as Mateus Fernandes punished a mistake by Ezri Konsa, and the away side trailed 2-1 at the interval before Rogers took matters into his own hands.

The England midfielder drilled home an equaliser five minutes after the break and then smashed a dipping drive past goalkeeper Alphonse Areola late on to seal the points.

Villa had cancelled out West Ham’s early opener in the 10th minute with defender Konstantinos Mavropanos credited with an own goal but Jarrod Bowen put the host back in front.

Bowen thought he had given West Ham the lead again but had his effort ruled out for offside.

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Victory lifted third-placed Villa to 33 points from 16 games, three behind leader Arsenal, while West Ham’s sixth home defeat of the season left it third from bottom with 13 points and in danger of spending Christmas in the relegation zone.

Sunderland edges past Newcastle United

Sunderland edged Newcastle United 1-0 thanks to an unfortunate own goal from Nick Woltemade as the North-East rivals met for the first time in nearly a decade.

The fixture is one of English football’s fiercest clashes, and fans who marked their calendars after Sunderland’s promotion were treated to an entertaining encounter where Woltemade scored just the second Premier League own goal in the Wear-Tyne derby.

After a goalless opening half, in which Newcastle’s Dan Burn came off with a chest injury and was taken to hospital, Woltemade gave Sunderland the lead a minute into the second half when his attempted headed clearance flew into his own net.

Newcastle struggled in attack and barely caused any trouble in the Sunderland box as the host took the points to remain unbeaten at home and move up to seventh, level on 26 points with sixth-placed Liverpool, while Newcastle is 12th on 22.

Published on Dec 14, 2025