Wigan Athletic confirmed their Premiership safety with a shock victory over Aston Villa on Saturday, completing a comfortable 2-0 victory at Villa Park.

Manchester United target Antonio Valencia scored both the goals midway through the second half as Aston Villa struggled to overcome a resilient Wigan side but could have managed a victory had they converted a number of chances that came their way.

Needing a win to assure their Premiership status, Wigan were on the attack right from the kick off and enjoyed a major share of the possession in the opening minutes of the game but were unable to create any chances.

The first real chance of the match fell to Zat Knight whose header from Ashley Young's free kick was saved brilliantly by Chris Kirkland. The win seemed to have boosted Villa's confidence as the hosts looked to press forward at every opportunity.

Kirkland pulled off another good save to deny Gareth Barry while Gabriel Agbonlahor dragged Villa's last chance of the half wide of the target. Villa tried to step up the pressure in the second half but it was Wigan who took a shock lead in the 52nd minute when Valencia's shot from well outside the area took a deflection off Bouma to fly past Carson and into the net.

Valencia doubled the lead 11 minutes later as he raced forward to meet Kirkland's long clearance before smashing an unstoppable drive past Carson to score only his third goal for Wigan. Villa tried to stage a late come back but the Wigan defense hung on to claim vital three points that assures their participation in the Premiership for the next season.