*Aston Villa moved out of the relegation zone by drawing against a West Ham side who finished with 10 men after Arthur Masuaku’s red card.* Masuaku was dismissed with 23 minutes left after picking up two bookings. Before that, the game’s major talking point saw Anwar El Ghazi clash heads with Villa team-mate Tyrone Mings, although no action was taken. Villa’s John McGinn had plenty of the game’s better chances, forcing Lukasz Fabianski into two saves. Both sides had frantic attacks late on, with penalty shouts at both ends, but neither could find the decisive touch. There were plenty of big hits and tackles, more so than major goalscoring opportunities. The major incident in the first half involved two Villa players - Mings was furious with El Ghazi’s lack of defensive help and started shouting in his face. At that moment, Netherlands winger El Ghazi nudged his head into Mings’ face. He could have been sent off, but referee Mike Dean and the video assistant referee decided the contact was not sufficient to produce a red card. Elsewhere, the physios were busy, as Hammers keeper Lukasz Fabianski flattened El Ghazi as he punched a cross clear, and McGinn hurt himself after tackling Sebastien Haller when Angelo Ogbonna accidentally stood on him. There were five yellow cards in the game, and two of them landed to Masuaku - one in each half. The first was more straightforward, with a heavy challenge on Frederic Guilbert, who needed treatment. But the second tackle to produce the red card - Dean’s 102nd as a Premier League official - was a tackle on substitute Ahmed Elmohamady, who went down easily. BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Chris Sutton was in no doubt that it was the right decision, calling the tackle “reckless and brainless”. West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini disagreed with the decision to send off his left-back. “It was a typical sending off when you play away, with the pressure of the fans in every foul,” he told BBC Sport. Villa captain Jack Grealish said his side “got worse when they went down to 10 men”, adding: “We tried to rush things and force things and gave the ball away.” His manager Dean Smith agreed, saying: “I thought 11 v 11 we were really good and created the best chances. I expected a little better of us when they went down to 10. “We never used that extra man and got rushed on the ball rather than keeping our structure.” Both sides miss decisive touch Both sides had grand plans for a win - Villa had the opportunity to move two points clear of the bottom three, while West Ham could have gone third in the table. The visitors had more chances, but Villa had the better ones. The best opening probably fell to Villa striker Wesley, who headed wide from about six yards out after a fine Grealish cross. McGinn was his usual classy self and went close with several shots from outside the box. “We were brilliant defensively, with our second clean sheet in row at Villa Park,” said Grealish. “We need to be deadlier in front of goal. As soon as we are, everything will click into place.” West Ham’s much-hyped attacking quartet of Haller, Andriy Yarmolenko, Manuel Lanzini and Felipe Anderson struggled to create many opportunities. Mark Noble’s seventh-minute snap shot, which was straight at goalkeeper Tom Heaton, proved to be their only shot on target. “We played with 10 men exactly the same as 11,” said Hammers boss Pellegrini. “I’m very happy with the personality and performance. If you cannot win, don’t lose it. “We did a complete game. I want to see in every game the attitude we saw tonight. I’m happy with the way we’re improving.” Villa move out of the bottom three on goal difference, while West Ham are eighth. --- *BBC Sport* *Monday 16 September 2019* “Anwar El Ghazi and Tyrone Mings: Aston Villa pair’s clash ‘put to bed’” *A clash of heads between Aston Villa team-mates Anwar El Ghazi and Tyrone Mings during their 0-0 draw with West Ham was “put to bed at half-time”, said captain Jack Grealish.* Defender Mings shouted at El Ghazi for not tracking back, and the winger pushed his head into Mings’ face. Referee Mike Dean and the assistant video referee decided not to send off the Dutchman. “That’s a heat-of-the-moment thing,” manager Dean Smith told BBC Sport. Grealish told Sky Sports: “As soon as we got in at half-time, it was put to bed and they shook hands. We said that can’t be happening on the pitch and said as soon as we left the dressing room, everyone had to be together. “I did say to the ref ‘what are you even checking for?’ but he said he had to. Emotions were running high but it was nothing and it was squashed in the changing room.” Smith said he “didn’t need to” do anything at half-time as “the players had dealt with it”. “That is the group of players I have got,” he said. “There is a great togetherness in the dressing room, with a great team spirit. It went over the edge of what we want. “But the players dealt with it swiftly and I am happy for them to do that. We are playing a team sport. It is competitive and there will be heat-of-the-moment things that happen. “I expect players to take responsibility. There is a limit you can’t step over. We’ve got a really good leadership group and they sort that out themselves.” He said he did “not really” worry that El Ghazi was going to be sent off. “I have stopped trying to work out what the officials’ decisions will be,” he said. “Anwar has a little bit of red mist in him, like most professional footballers. It is one of those things. “I didn’t think of taking him off. That is the end of it. It won’t get brought up again.” Villa moved out of the relegation zone with the point, while West Ham - who had Arthur Masuaku sent off for two bookings - missed the chance to move into the top three.