Birmingham City slipped into the relegation zone for the first time since February after they were thrashed 5-1 by Aston Villa on Sunday.

Goals from Ashley Young and John Carew gave Villa a comfortable 2-0 lead in the first half. Both the players were on target again in the second half as the hosts raced to a 4-0 lead before Mikael Forssell pulled one back for Birmingham. However Gabriel Agbonlahor restored the four goal advantage as Villa completed their most comprehensive victory over their rivals in recent seasons.

Desperately needing a win to snap out of their poor form, Birmingham enjoyed a major share of possession early in the game but were unable to break past the Villa defense. The hosts slowly took control of the game and were in the lead in the 28th minute when Young smashed home a stunning drive past Maik Taylor.

Young continued his impressive form by turning provider in the 42nd minute when his curling free kick was headed home by Carew. The hosts came out all guns blazing in the second half as Carew was played in by Barry and the Norwegian striker made no mistake from close range in the 53rd minute.

The match was all but over by the 63rd minute when Young scored his second goal of the match after a brilliant individual effort saw him beat two defenders before slotting past Taylor. Birmingham pulled one back four minutes later through Forssell but Agbonlahor latched on to a mistake by Liam Ridgwell before slotting the ball past Taylor 12 minutes before full time.