Everton push woeful Aston Villa closer to relegation

AFP: Aston Villa were pushed closer to the relegation trapdoor on Tuesday (Mar 1) as the Premier League’s bottom club slumped to a miserable 3-1 defeat against Everton.

Remi Garde’s troubled side was crushed by goals from Ramiro Funes Mori, Aaron Lennon and Romelu Lukaku as they surrendered in front of their furious fans at Villa Park.

Villa’s fourth defeat in their last five league matches was played out against the dispiriting backdrop of a 74th minute walkout from supporters in protest at their club’s humiliating decline.

Villa last played in the second tier in 1988 but they remain eight points from safety and with games against Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea still to come this month, their fate could effectively be sealed before Easter.

Everton’s victory – their fifth in their last six games in all competitions – was the ideal way to welcome Iranian billionaire Farhad Moshiri, whose muti-million pound arrival as majority shareholder over the weekend has raised hopes of an exciting new chapter in the club’s history.

Villa’s last home game had ended in their worst defeat at Villa Park for 81 years as Liverpool romped to a 6-0 victory that prompted Garde to question his players’ commitment.

In a fitting coda to the evening, more of Villa’s fans departed in protest with 16 minutes left, so when Rudy Gestede got one back with a 79th minute header, there was hardly anyone left to see it.