Aston Villa 3-2 Everton: Benteke double fires Sherwood’s men closer to safety

Christian Benteke continued to haul Aston Villa closer to Premier League safety, scoring a crucial brace in his side's 3-2 victory over Everton at Villa Park.

The Belgian has been revitalised following new manager Tim Sherwood's arrival in February and was at the double before the break to help move Villa into 14th - albeit still only two points clear of the bottom three after Sunderland also won on Saturday.

Benteke scored at either end of the first half to earn the FA Cup finalists a two-goal lead that their dominance deserved.

Roberto Martinez's Everton - lacklustre prior to the break - were afforded a way back into the game when Romelu Lukaku joined his compatriot on the scoresheet with a penalty before the hour mark.

However, Tom Cleverley scored for a second week running just five minutes later to further bolster Villa's survival hopes and leave Martinez scratching his head.

Everton, so positive in their 3-0 win over Manchester United last time out, were undone by a confident Villa side despite a scrappy late header from Phil Jagielka.