Villa, who were behind in the opening half, came forward with more goals after the beak and came close in the 51st minute when central defender Ezri Konsa advanced an inch wide.

When the game seemed to be heading for a goalless crisis, Barclays ensured that the Villa season began with four league wins for the first time since 1930.

The England midfielder, who made his Villa debut in Liverpool’s 7-2 home draw in the last round, was delighted to start the season after being ruled out of the top flight last season.

“Today they had a major win, we slowed down, but we got better, and in the end it deserves it,” he told Sky Sports.

“I was 50/50 a week, (our physio) did a very good job of correcting me. He said I would stop scoring goals, so I submitted the goal to him. The manager gave me the platform and I’m excited to play, and look forward to all the games.”

Hammer destroys Bale’s welcome home party

Earlier, West Ham made an amazing comeback against Tottenham, scoring three goals in the final 10 minutes to make it 3-3.

In other games today, Brighton drew 1-1 with Sheffield United at Crystal Palace in the 90th minute, while Fulham shared the spoils, one by one.

In the first 16 minutes, Son Hyung-min scored once and Harry Kane scored twice before Spurs won easily. West Ham’s determination and Spurs’ poor play changed everything.

Welshman Bale, who borrowed from Real Madrid, left the bench in the 71st minute but was replaced by West Ham script for a great introduction.

Fabian Balbuina’s 82nd-minute header and Davinson Sanchez ‘s own goal gave West Ham hope. Bale finished almost fourth, but scored a surprise goal when West Ham’s Manuel Lancini stopped.

Draw for Brighton and Crystal Palace

At Celhurst Park, a shot from Argentine substitute Alexis McAlister pulled Palace defender Gary Cahill into the back of the net and Brighton’s pressure was finally rewarded.

Brighton centurion Louis Dunk was sent off in the third minute of stoppage time for a crude, two-legged red card to Cahill in a penalty area, but the court did not have time to take advantage of its numerical advantage.

With just one shot left, the home team ended the game – a controversial one converted by Wilfred Saha in the 19th minute.

Saha went on to send goalkeeper Matthew Ryan off the field for the fourth goal of the season, despite Tariq Lampe pulling off his jersey as court striker Michi Batshu – though the contact was minimal.

Brighton, who have lost three of their first four games, have only scored four points this season. The palace has seven points.

Fulham and Sheffield United draw

Fulham took the lead in the 77th minute through Ademola Lukman but United maintained the pressure and equalized in the 85th minute through Billy Sharp from the penalty spot.

Fulham boss Scott Parker said he was disappointed not to take all three points. “You have to watch the game to get your nose in front of 10 people to go. It was not intended, but there are some real positives.

“We had a lot of speed on the team and we had a lot of problems for United. We had to score a second.”

The Blades had plenty of chances to score in the first half, having their best chance when Oli McBarney connected with a cross on the edge of the six yard box, just to see Alphonse Ariola save the best reflex.

The home side thought they were ahead when Tosin Adarabio converted Sanderberg’s cross into Fulham’s net, but was able to score for an offside in the buildup.

Fulham had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the second minute from the penalty spot when Jack Robinson was found to have handled the ball. But Alexander Mitrovic threw the ball into the crossbar and over.

The visitors went ahead as Lukman overcame two defenders before the ball smashed goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale for the first Premier League goal.

Loading

However, the Blades won a penalty following a VAR review after Robinson was beaten by Mitrovic while competing for the high ball, and substitute Sharp Fulham made no mistake in beating Ariola.

Mitrovic almost ended the match when United climbed over the defense to reach Lukman’s cross, but his header traveled inches wide to the nearest post.

Blades boss Chris Wilder said he was not ashamed to start the Premier League campaign.

“It’s an incredibly competitive league,” he said. “The number of numbers is increasing and football clubs are surviving and continuing in this division.

“We did well to get into this league ahead of time. We haven’t won the first five games of the season. It’s not going well, people should not be ashamed of it. It’s a difficult moment.”

AP, Reuters