⚡️ West Ham race to season milestone with shock opener vs Aston Villa | OneFootball

There could be a holiday twist on the cards this afternoon as West Ham took a shock early lead against Premier League title race outfit Aston Villa.

Unai Emery's Villains have been one of the sides of the 2025/26 season as we approach the Christmas period, with the Hammers having contrasting fortunes across what has been a campaign featuring relegation whispers.

But that could all change today, at least for a moment, after young Portuguese midfielder Mateus Fernandes bagged the opener inside the first 30 seconds of action at London Stadium.

That strike, his second of the league season, became the fastest goal scored in the English top flight less than 24 hours after Hugo Ekitike's quick-fire opener for Liverpool during the Reds' 2-0 win over Brighton yesterday.

Though his opener would go on to be cancelled out by an own goal from Konstantinos Mavropanos, Fernandes' early hit could be a sign of things to come from Nuno Espírito Santo's outfit after Jarrod Bowen went on to restore their one-goal advantage in the 24th minute.

Upset result pending?

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