Christian Benteke seals thriller for Aston Villa

CHRISTIAN Benteke’s second-half penalty settled a remarkable West Midlands derby as Aston Villa came from 2-0 down to edge West Brom 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller.

Christian Benteke's penalty won the West Midlands derby for Aston Villa. Picture: PA

A Chris Brunt stunner and a Fabian Delph own goal inside the first nine minutes got the Baggies off to a flyer at Villa Park, but the hosts replied quickly through Andreas Weimann, Leandro Bacuna and Delph.

Youssouf Mulumbu made it 3-3 at half-time, but Benteke secured only Villa’s third Barclays Premier League home win of the season from the spot after the striker himself was fouled. The result left new West Brom manager Pepe Mel still waiting for his first victory in the job.

Adam Johnson continued his mission to single-handedly fire Sunderland to safety as ten-man Stoke were dragged back into the mix. The £10 million England midfielder’s sixth goal in as many games secured a 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light.

Chelsea were frustrated by West Ham in a goalless draw which saw Jose Mourinho’s men fall three points behind leaders Manchester City. The Blues had 38 goal attempts to the Hammers one but couldn’t find a way through.