Brazilian striker Wesley scored twice and missed a penalty as Aston Villa thumped injury-hit Norwich City 5-1 at Carrow Road for their biggest Premier League away win in 11 years.
Jack Grealish, Conor Hourihane and Douglas Luiz completed the rout, with Josip Drmic scoring a late consolation for Norwich who looked a shadow of the side who had beaten Manchester City in their previous home game.
– ESPN Premier League fantasy: Sign up now!
– VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide
– When does the transfer window reopen?
– Premier League winter break: All you need to know
Wesley, who has now doubled his Villa goal tally, was criticised for a slipshod performance against Burnley last weekend but justified manager Dean Smith’s faith with his first-half strikes.
On 14 minutes he brought down Anwar El Ghazi’s cross to rifle past Michael McGovern, Norwich’s third-choice keeper making his Premier League debut for the club at the age of 35.
Wesley took advantage of good work from Hourihane to double Villa’s lead on 30 minutes but then had a penalty well saved by McGovern, who also did enough to ensure Wesley’s follow-up shot ballooned over the bar.
Grealish side-footed home his first top-flight goal in four years for Villa’s third just after the break before more bad defending allowed Hourihane to hit their fourth. Luiz’s 83rd-minute thunderbolt delighted the noisy away support as Villa leapfrogged Norwich to move out of the relegation zone.