West Ham got their first goal and win of their Premier League campaign at Villa Park.
Pablo Fornals' deflected strike gave the Hammers a desperately needed three points, following a much improved second half performance.
A disappointing home loss for Aston Villa means that Steven Gerrard may feel the pressure ramp up on him, as Villa have failed to make use of a favourable fixture list at the start of this season.
Both teams now sit on three points each from their first four league games.
These are the player ratings from Villa Park:
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Aston Villa
Emiliano Martinez - 6/10
Virtually a bystander in the game. Only had one save to make - a very comfortable one. Could do nothing about the goal which looped over him, after a brutal deflection.
Matty Cash - 7/10
A total of eight combined tackles and interceptions, in addition to only being dribbled past once. However, unable to be at his best going forward. Still, an impressive performance.
Callum Chambers - 5.5/10
Like the rest of the defence, not much work to do in the first half. Was troubled more in the second period, with Scamacca and Antonio both causing some issues.
Ezri Konsa - 5.5/10
Not much difference between Konsa and his partner in central defence, Chambers. Will be disappointed to not keep a clean sheet.
Lucas Digne - 6/10
A fantastic recovery tackle which prevented Jarrod Bowen from opening the score in the second half. Kept the England winger quiet for the whole game. Like Cash, not able to make a real difference from an attacking perspective.
Boubacar Kamara - 6/10
A similar story as for most of the game's players - two contrasting halves. Controlled the game brilliantly in the first half and looked the more impressive out of him and his counterpart, Declan Rice. Not quite exerted the same level of control following the break.
John McGinn - 6.5/10
As ever, covered a lot of ground and was one of the main reasons for Villa's dominant first half performance.
Douglas Luiz - 6/10
His 66 minute performance, was, perhaps, the least impressive of the midfield trio. A respectable showing, but failed to stand out too much and was justifiably taken off.
Phillipe Coutinho - 6/10
Showed some good bits of footwork to beat Soucek a few times. A few other positive moments from him, but not quite up to his lofty, high standards. Was taken off after a slight knock in the 66th minute.
Ollie Watkins - 6/10
Him & Ings pressed West Ham's defence very effectively in the first half, which allowed Villa to have most of the ball. Looked the more threatening of the striker partnership, with his usual good movement off the ball.
Danny Ings - 5.5/10
Not able to have any real openings in attack. As mentioned, did well to cause West Ham's backline trouble when they had the ball, but that's the only real positive of note.
Jacob Ramsey (on: 66') - 6/10
Only one misplaced pass after coming on, but didn't have enough time to make a real impact on the game.
Emiliano Buendia (on: 66') - 5.5/10
Replaced Coutinho, but was unable to contribute towards breaking down the West Ham defence following the opener.
Leon Bailey (on: 69') - N/A
Cameron Archer (on: 90') - N/A
West Ham
Lukasz Fabianski - 7/10
Had three saves to make, a few powerful shots which were held well. Wasn't troubled a great deal and takes home a clean sheet.
Ben Johnson - N/A
Picked up an injury in the 23rd minute and was replaced by Vladimir Coufal. Not too much to note from him in the first quarter of the game.
Thilo Kehrer - 7/10
Recovered well after a disappointing debut against Brighton. Looks well suited to being a wide centre back as part of a three man partnership - although it seems unlikely that West Ham may continue playing that system.
Kurt Zouma - 8/10
Won all his aerial duels, had to make a total of 12 clearances and looked a lot better on the ball - which was important after his role in the conceded penalty last weekend. Man of the match.
Aaron Cresswell - 7/10
Started of as left centre back in the back three and switched to left back, following the change of system at half-time. Didn't stand out too much, contributed towards the clean sheet.
Emerson Palmieri - 6.5/10
Had a decent first half - which can't be said for most of the West Ham team. Was the victim of a formation change at half-time and was replaced by the more attacking Said Benrahma. A positive start to his West Ham career.
Declan Rice - 7/10
Was below his standard in the first half. Major step up after the break - completed two key passes and won a free kick in a very dangerous area thanks to a good run from midfield.
Tomas Soucek - 6.5/10
Looked a bit off the pace at times, but in general had a decent game. Completed all five of his attempted long balls.
Pablo Fornals - 7.5/10
Scored the winner, but can't take too much of the credit, due to the huge deflection. Wasn't a huge attacking threat, but was a disciplined and hard working performance from the Spaniard, as it usually is.
Jarrod Bowen - 5.5/10
So far, not quite living up to the standards he set himself last season. Unable to make an impact going forward. Was fortunate to last the whole game and keep Maxwel Cornet on the bench.
Gianluca Scamacca - 7/10
Had to feed off of scraps in the first half. Still managed some good bits of hold up play and was a bright spark for the Hammers in his first Premier League start. Replaced by Antonio in the 65th minute.
Substitutes:
Vladimir Coufal (on: 23') - 6.5/10
Struggled to get into the game after being subbed on. Gave the ball away very loosely on a few occasions before the break. Improvement after the break and contributed towards the clean sheet.
Said Benrahma (on: 46') - 7.5/10
Was the change which shifted the balance of the game. A surprise to not see him start, following his good form to start the season. Will be the danger man for West Ham against Tottenham in midweek.
Michail Antonio (on: 65') - 7.5/10
The super-sub role may be one that fits Antonio very well. Some eyebrows were raised when he replaced Scamacca - who was playing well. The Jamaican used his physicality very well and caused Konsa and Chambers some serious issues in the latter part of the game.