Aston Villa were blown away by Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday, as Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley scored a brace each to help the Toffees to a convincing 4-0 win.
Villa started fairly defensively, looking to repeat the performance that saw them grind out a draw against Manchester City before the international break, but the plan fell apart quickly as Barkley gave Everton an early lead.
Barkley taps in for the first
Gerard Deulofeu's ball into the box was met by Arouna Kone, who forced 'keeper Brad Guzan into a good save, only for Barkley to react quickest and tap the ball into an empty net.
You'd have thought that the opener might have given Villa a wake up call, however it didn't prove to be so. Kieran Richardson, in at left-back in place of the injured Jordan Amavi, was really struggling agianst a threatening Deulofeu.
The Spaniard was wreaking havoc down the right wing, and set up Kone again after skipping past Richardson, only for Guzan to stop the Ivorian's effort from going in with a good save.
Two and three come ever so easy for Toffees
The American couldn't keep the ball out of the net three minutes later though, as Romelu Lukaku headed in to make it 2-0. The Belgian thought his chance had gone, as Micah Richards blocked his effort, only for the ball to run to Seamus Coleman, who crossed for Lukaku to head in.
Remi Garde's men were in disarray, so much that a third Everton goal went in before the half-time whistle blew, Barkley adding his second of the game. Yet again Kone was involved, with Guzan doing well to save from him, but similarly to the first goal, Barkley got to the rebound first and rolled the ball into the net.
Villa boss Garde did make a change at half-time, swapping Idrissa Gueye for Carlos Sanchez, and he was given hope as his side started the second 45 with a chance that came from an Everton mistake.
Ramiro Funes-Mori's backpass was intercepted by Jordan Veretout, who burst through on goal, only for his strike to be well saved by goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Things were improving for the Villans, and Richardson was growing into the game down the left-hand side, less shackled by Deulofeu with Everton sitting pretty on their marginal lead. He cut inside Coleman down the wing, before sending a dipping effort towards goal, which Howard was magnificently equal to.
Lukaku makes no mistake, as Everton get their fourth
If fans thought that those chances were signs of a spirited comeback, they couldn't have been more wrong, as Lukaku struck again just before the hour mark to make it 4-0.
Deulofeu was involved again, playing the ball to Barkley, who added an assist to his two goals by playing in Lukaku, with the striker making no mistake in placing the ball past Guzan.
Luckily for Villa, Everton seemed fairly content with four goals, and threatened little for the remainder of the game. Substitute Kevin Mirallas forced Guzan into two fairly comfortable saves, whilst Jordan Ayew went close at the other end, but there was little to shout about for the Villans overall.
Having now lost eight of their last nine league games, the Villans remain bottom of the table on five points, and are still without a victory since the opening day of the season - 105 days ago.