Morgan Rogers's second-half double saw in-form Aston Villa come from behind to win 3-2 at struggling West Ham.
The victory means Unai Emery's side have now won their last six Premier League games in a row to maintain their title push. They are still just three points behind leaders Arsenal and have also won 10 of their last 11 top-flight matches, winning the most points in the division in that timeframe from September 28 onwards.
However, things did not start well for the visitors in the capital, with the London Stadium rocking from the off as the home faithful remembered former captain and manager Billy Bonds just prior to kick-off.
Just 29 seconds later, the home side were ahead thanks to the fastest Premier League goal of the season, beating Hugo Ekitike's effort for Liverpool against Brighton after only 46 seconds at Anfield on Saturday.
Mateus Fernandes stole the ball off Ezri Konsa as the centre-back dawdled on the byline, with the Portuguese lashing home from a tight angle to bring the roof off the stadium, for a few minutes at least.
The Hammers do not do clean sheets, although they will count themselves a little unfortunate about the nature of Villa's equaliser nine minutes later as Konstantinos Mavropanos stooped to inadvertently head past Alphonse Areola under extreme pressure from Ollie Watkins.
Another mistake at the back from Konsa, who was too slow coming out and played Jarrod Bowen onside as the forward cleverly touched home Freddie Potts's strike from the edge of the area, deservedly put the hosts back ahead at the break.
Despite starting the game in the bottom three and facing the Premier League's most in-form team since the end of September, West Ham restricted their opponents to a first-half xG of zero, although it took Villa just five minutes of the second half to draw level again.
Youri Tielemans started the move with a lung-busting run down the right and from his cross, Rogers collected the ball and turned sharply in the box, before dispatching all in one motion.
In a pulsating encounter, Bowen thought he had put his side back in front again, only for the offside flag to intervene and in the battle of the England internationals, it was Rogers who stole the show with a stunning winner 11 minutes from time.
West Ham will regret backing off and almost asking Rogers to let fly from 25 yards, which he did with aplomb, beating Areola with a shot that dipped over the Hammers' No 1 as Villa stayed on the coattails of Arsenal.
West Ham, though, remain in the bottom three despite just a second loss in their last seven league games.
Your Site' Jamie Carragher:
"They've put themselves in a great position for Champions League but the longer they stay in the mix with Arsenal and Manchester City, you then start to think they could really push for the title.
"I don't think they'll win the title but it shows just what a manager they've got. In the Premier League, only Pep Guardiola is a better manager than Unai Emery."
Analysis by Your Site' Lewis Jones:
The numbers say no, the results keep screaming yes
Aston Villa's 3-2 win at West Ham was another chapter in a season that continues to laugh in the face of expected goals models. You can almost hear the algorithms whirring uncomfortably as Unai Emery's side march on.
Villa have now scored 25 Premier League goals from an expected goals total of just 17.06 and lost the "xG battle" at the London Stadium 1.04 - 0.62.
Morgan Rogers' stunning strike to win the game means Villa have scored 10 goals from outside the box this season. That's three more than any other Premier League side.
The expected goal models hate long shots. And usually, they're right to. Most fly into Row Z or end up as corner flags souvenirs. But Villa are not shooting hope, they are shooting with quality.
The uncomfortable truth for Villa's rivals is that this is a team consistently outperforming xG through shot selection, confidence and execution.
Many are expecting a regression but the league table suggests otherwise.
Analysis by Your Site' Lewis Jones:
You can change the manager. You can tweak the shape. But the same problems are holding West Ham back from pulling away from the relegation zone.
Since Nuno Espirito Santo took charge, they have conceded 1.73 goals per game and their expected goals against paints an even grimmer picture, where they are shipping 1.85 xGA per game. Nuno's teams are usually defined by defensive organisation where there is a sense of collective responsibility but the same problems keep appearing.
West Ham are a defence full of players that can't defend their box with any authority and allows opponents too many good chances, too often. The 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa summed it up perfectly. Moments of control, followed by lapses of concentration at key moments.
A team with West Ham's defensive numbers puts you in relegation trouble. Historically, teams with those metrics don't survive unless they possess elite finishing or counter-attacking firepower. West Ham do have Jarrod Bowen but he needs some support in the other box. A dominant, ball winning centre-back is a must in January.
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo:
"We started very well, the perfect start to take the lead and this is something we are not able to do, control the game when we are in front.
"I wish I could give a proper answer with a proper solution. But it's happening to us recently. We are in front, we are leading and we are allowing teams to go back in the game.
"Victories are getting away from us. It requires a lot of work on that part. There are a lot of factors, there's information also. But we should do better.
"This is why we are so disappointed, because it was such an important day for all of us at the club to honour the memory of Billy Bonds.
"It was an emotional moment, it was a proper tribute to Billy Bonds' memory. It's sad that we didn't finish with a win, so we can celebrate."
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery:
"Our start was poor, two times we were behind but how they responded and how we achieved those three points is how we are as a team.
"Being ambitious, responsible, being organised in our structure. I'm so happy how we responded.
"For me, the most important thing is how he is working, tactically, offensively and defensively and now he is scoring goals.
"He is always doing his work with huge commitment. He is growing up so quick and performing better because physically, he is strong and his mentality is huge."
