Aston Villa 3-0 Everton: Toffees' unbeaten run comes to an end at Villa Park

Aston Villa scored three goals in nine minutes as a brilliant second-half display saw Everton's unbeaten run ended at Villa Park.

As one of only five Premier League teams still unbeaten before Saturday's game, the Toffees fell apart in the second half as the hosts deservedly took all three points.

After a lacklustre first half with few chances, the game sprung to life in the 66th minute when Villa full-back Matty Cash fired past stand-in Everton goalkeeper Asmir Begovic with a fine left-footed finish.

The Toffees conceded again three minutes later as substitute Leon Bailey's corner was headed into his own net by Lucas Digne at the near post.

Bailey added a third 15 minutes from full-time after showing great composure to nod the ball down before finding the roof of the net with a thunderous strike.

After a disappointing start to the season, Dean Smith's side move up to 10th in the table with their second victory of the campaign.

The one downside on an otherwise perfect night for Villa was the head injury to midfielder John McGinn.

The Scotland international was withdrawn five minutes before the break as the hosts used their concussion substitute after McGinn received a blow to the head earlier.

McGinn played on after taking a knock from Michael Keane when contesting an early corner, but went down again around 20 minutes later before being checked over by medics.

The 26-year-old was given tablets before again continuing to play for another 10 minutes before informing Villa's bench that he needed to come off after a challenge from Demarai Gray.

Smith said his decision to keep McGinn on the pitch was "guided by the player".

He said: "He got a knock on the head about five minutes in and thought he was OK to carry on. Around the 26-minute mark, he got another whack and there was a break in play, and he alerted us to it and the doctor kept an eye on it. He called us and said he was too dizzy.

"You're guided by the player. He didn't express concussion symptoms when he did it but there was a second one and then he did."

After a brilliant second-half display themselves against Burnley on Monday night, Everton were unable to repeat their performance at Villa Park and rarely threatened going forward, managing just one shot on target.

Going into the match Rafael Benitez was forced into three unwanted changes as the Toffees suffered from their midweek victory, losing Jordan Pickford and Richarlison to shoulder and knee injuries respectively. Their preparations were further hampered when club captain Seamus Coleman was withdrawn from the squad after struggling with a hamstring injury in Friday's training session.

The trio, who had started every league game this season, were replaced by Begovic, Alex Iwobi and deadline-day signing Salomon Rondon, who led the line on his first start for Everton.

The experienced Begovic was called into action early doors, as he made a sharp, reactive save to deny a powerful Tyrone Mings header from Villa's first corner of the match.

But the Toffees were poor at the other end and their solitary shot on target fell to Andros Townsend, whose long-range effort was straight into the path of Villa's returning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Everton's frustrating afternoon was summed up when, at 0-0, Gray looked through on goal after spinning past Ezri Konsa before being pulled back by the defender on the edge of the box, only for referee Craig Pawson to allow play to continue.

Victory would have seen Benitez enjoy his best start to a Premier League season, but his side lacked a cutting edge as they played the final 30 minutes with no recognised striker on the pitch after Rondon was replaced by Andre Gomes.

Not long after, the floodgates began to open as Villa sprung into life.

Smith's side are now unbeaten in five league games against Everton since their 2019 return to the Premier League, and are enjoying their longest run without defeat at Villa Park in the top flight since January 2015.