Unai Emery said "ambitious" Aston Villa deserved the battling 3-2 win against West Ham that kept alive their unexpected Premier League title challenge on Sunday.
Emery's side are just three points behind leaders Arsenal thanks to Morgan Rogers' double at the London Stadium.
The midlands club haven't won the English title since 1980-81.
The Boss' reaction to another comeback victory in the Premier League 👊
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 14, 2025
"Thankful for our supporters." 💜
But Villa have recovered from a dismal start to the season and head into the busy Christmas schedule harbouring genuine hopes of overhauling Arsenal.
"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," Emery said.
"Being ambitious, responsible, being organised in our structure. I'm so happy how we responded."
Villa suffered an early blow in east London as Mateus Fernandes' strike after just 29 seconds ranked as the quickest Premier League goal this season.
A Konstantinos Mavropanos own-goal cancelled out the West Ham opener, but Jarrod Bowen's goal restored the lowly Hammers' advantage.
double pump incoming ✊ pic.twitter.com/B2cqkuBOVE
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 14, 2025
That set the stage for England midfielder Rogers to bag the equaliser before his brilliant 25-yard rocket stole the points in the 79th minute.
Emery saluted Rogers' latest eye-catching display, saying: "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."
Villa have won 10 of their last 11 Premier League matches, having been winless in their first five, but Rogers is not thinking about the title yet.
"We're not looking at that at all," the 23-year-old said. "People were talking about relegation before so we are not talking about that.
"It is about being as consistent as possible. At the moment we are in a great run so let's see where that takes us."