Aston Villa returned to fourth place in the Premier League table after a thumping 5-0 win at basement boys Sheffield United.

Goals from John McGinn, Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey, Youri Tielemans and Alex Moreno condemned the Blades to their 17th league defeat of the campaign.

Here are the key talking points from a one-sided affair at Bramall Lane.

Early blitz

Villa came into the game having won only one of their last five league fixtures, most recently going down 3-1 at home to Newcastle last Tuesday.

But they took no time to get ahead at Bramall Lane, with McGinn tapping home after 12 minutes and Watkins extending the advantage moments later.

Only Gabriel Agbonlahor (40) has now scored more Premier League away goals for Villa than England international Watkins, who is tied on 23 with Dwight Yorke.

Bailey made it 3-0 in the 20th minute before Tielemans ensured the game was over as a contest after only half an hour.

Unai Emery's men became the first away team in the English top flight to score four or more goals in the opening 30 minutes since Chelsea in October 2011.

The last time Villa had scored four goals in the first half of a league game was in October 2020, when they thrashed Liverpool 7-2.

Case for the defence

The hosts have the worst defensive record in the division and they showed why on another hugely disappointing night for the Blades.

No team in the division have kept fewer clean sheets than the South Yorkshire strugglers and they have now let in 59 goals in 23 outings.

They shipped eight at home to Newcastle last September, five at Arsenal the following month and again at Burnley in December.

Despite replacing Paul Heckingbottom with Chris Wilder following that humbling at Turf Moor, they have now conceded 15 goals in their last four matches in all competitions.

The 59 league goals Wilder's men have leaked is the second most of any team in UEFA's top-flight divisions. Only Newry City (65) in Northern Ireland have shipped more.

United had won each of their last three home clashes with Villa but were nowhere near matching their opponents this time around.

When Vinicius Souza's goal in second-half stoppage time was disallowed, the only bright spark of a dismal showing was extinguished.

Playing the Villan

Villa had struggled in front of goal in recent weeks, netting only twice in their four games in all competitions last month.

Despite edging past Middlesbrough in the FA Cup third round, stalemates at Everton and Chelsea followed by the home defeat to the Magpies were a cause for concern.

But any doubts were cast aside after a blistering attacking performance.

Wat a guy

In addition to his early strike, Watkins laid on assists for both Leon Bailey and Alex Moreno.

He became the first player to register double figures for both goals (11) and assists (10) in the Premier League this season.

After six games without a goal, his strike against Newcastle and effort this evening suggest the Three Lions ace is rediscovering his best form.

Finding form

Villa are back in action on Wednesday night when they host Chelsea in their FA Cup fourth-round replay.

With top-four rivals Manchester United to follow the Blues at Villa Park next Sunday, tonight's victory will give the West Midlanders plenty of confidence ahead of two key clashes. 

For the Blades, they must dust themselves down before for a trip to Luton with Brighton and Wolves to come before the end of the month.