Aston Villa 4-2 Birmingham City: Hosts win six-goal Second City derby thriller

Jack Grealish's goal against Birmingham City was just his second of the season

Aston Villa came from behind to beat Birmingham City in one of the finest Second City derbies ever played.

After trailing to Lukas Jutkiewicz's 28th-minute volley, Dean Smith's side turned it round with two goals in two minutes before the break from Jonathan Kodjia and Jack Grealish.

Tammy Abraham added a third from the penalty spot just after the restart.

Kristian Pedersen caused some nerves by pulling one back, but Alan Hutton's stunning late run and neatly placed left-foot finish ensured a memorable Villa win.

Villa's third straight victory – and fourth in six games under new boss Dean Smith – lifts them to eighth in the Championship table, four points off the top six.

Defeat for Birmingham extends their winless run in this fixture to 13 league derbies.

A typically tense derby tussle took almost half an hour to ignite before Blues went ahead on 28 minutes – their first goal at Villa Park since Mikael Forsell scored in the 5-1 defeat in April 2008.

Connor Mahoney's swinging corner was allowed to travel all the way through to the far post, where Jutkiewicz timed his run superbly to arrive almost as if choreographed to turn in his 10th goal of the season.

The story of the match may have been different if Che Adams had not wasted a glorious chance of a second when he then hit the post from close range

Instead, by the 39th minute Villa were ahead – both goals set up by right-wing crosses from Albert Adomah, and both down to slack defending.

Kodjia was allowed too much space to turn and drill home through Maxime Colin's legs from eight yards, before Grealish was left hopelessly unmarked to head home his second goal in successive games at Villa Park.

Second-half heroics

Alan Hutton scored the pick of Aston Villa's four goals

Following the remarkable first-half turnaround, Villa struck again when Abraham fell over Michael Morrison's legs before getting up to put the penalty away himself.

Pedersen gave City hope when he met a cross from Adams and volleyed home his first goal for the club.

But Hutton had the final word on 76 minutes with a goal worthy of headlining any football contest.

Not only did he carry the ball from his own half, he then cut in from the right, entered the penalty area and had the coolness to glide the ball inside Camp's right post with his left instep.

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