Andriy Yarmolenko had tears in his eyes. The stadium announcer exclaimed “for West Ham and Ukraine”, as he called out the goalscorer’s name. Aston Villa players applauded the striker. When this Premier League Sunday afternoon started, it looked like Roman Abramovich’s sanctioned Chelsea would be the focus of attention as they took on Newcastle United. As so often in the past couple of weeks, though, a Ukrainian hero took centre stage at the London Stadium.
Yarmolenko, who replaced Michail Antonio seven minutes after the break, had received a warm and emotional welcome from the fans. His arrival on the pitch enlivened a game that was drifting away from West Ham. The goal transformed the atmosphere in the stadium and brought a surge of belief for the home side. David Moyes’s team were suddenly back in the hunt for a Champions League place that seemed to be moving further away from them. It was no surprise when Pablo Fornals added a second 12 minutes later to give West Ham some breathing space.
