West Ham’s European streak ends despite Paqueta worldie; Villa run wild at AZ (video highlights)

In Thursday’s early European fixtures, Premier League clubs West Ham United and Aston Villa embarked on different journeys, heading to Greece and the Netherlands, respectively.

Villa continued their impressive form in the UEFA Conference League, led once again by the influential John McGinn. Unai Emery’s side showcased their strength on the continental stage.

[ MORE: 10 key questions for Week 10 of the Premier League season ]

However, West Ham’s fortunes took a downturn as they suffered a defeat, despite a late thunderous strike from Lucas Paqueta. The Hammers’ struggles extended beyond the Premier League.

Let’s dive into more details from the lunchtime kickoffs.

AZ Alkmaar 1-4 Aston Villa: John McGinn, the European star (video)

Aston Villa executed a near-flawless away performance, with all their five shots finding the target and resulting in four goals against their Dutch opponents.

John McGinn and Leon Bailey played instrumental roles, each contributing a goal and an assist. The Villans scored two goals in a dominant 10-minute period in the first half, followed by two more early in the second half, three minutes apart.

Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins also got on the scoresheet for Unai Emery’s team, although Emiliano Martinez missed out on a clean sheet after Ibrahim Sadiq pulled one back for AZ Alkmaar.

Villa currently top the group with six points, while AZ Alkmaar languish at the bottom with three points. Zrinjski Mostar and Legia Warsaw will enter their 3 pm ET match with four points each.

Olympiacos 2-1 West Ham: Lucas Paqueta’s superb strike in a losing effort (video)

Goal-scoring opportunities were scarce in Greece, where West Ham struggled to assert themselves until late in the game.

The Hammers had won their first two matches in the Europa League but found themselves trailing 2-0 at halftime, courtesy of goals from Konstantinos Fortounis and Brazilian right back Rodinei.

Outshot 15-12 on the day, West Ham committed several fouls in a scrappy second half but managed to provide late excitement through Lucas Paqueta’s powerful goal.

However, it was not enough to alter the outcome, and David Moyes’ side now sit ahead of Freiburg on tiebreakers. Olympiacos’ four points place them in third position, while TSC Backa Topola have a solitary point in Group A.