With billionaire Iranian businessman Farhad Moshiri buying a majority shareholding in the Toffees, they are looking at better times ahead.
And in their first game since the power shift at Goodison Park, Roberto Martinez’s side cruised to a fifth victory in six games to add to the feel-good factor.
Villa, meanwhile, look as if they are going down without a fight. The anger at Villa Park was underlined by a fans’ mass walk-out in a protest against owner Randy Lerner and the board 16 minutes from the end of a fourth defeat in five games which pushed their beleaguered team ever closer to the drop.
In a season of despair, Villa hit a new low in their last home game when they were beaten 6-0 by Liverpool, matching their previous heaviest Villa Park defeat since 1935.
And the nightmare continued as it took Everton just five minutes to take the lead last night.
Villa boss Remi Garde changed his formation to play with three central defenders but there was still no one near Ramiro Funes Mori when the Argentine defender met a Kevin Mirallas corner with a regulation header which gave goalkeeper Brad Guzan, starting his first league game since January 2, no chance.
It immediately sparked the fed-up home fans into chanting ‘we want our Villa back’ in a precursor of what was to come.
There was a period of respite for Villa as Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Westwood forced Joel Robles into saves and Micah Richards sent a spectacular overhead volley just wide.
But Villa’s defensive weakness was horribly exposed again with half an hour gone as Everton pounced on the break.
GETTY
Ramiro Funes Mori opening the scoring for Everton at Villa Park
Ross Barkley led the charge and when he released the ball to Mirallas, the winger sprinted on before squaring for Aaron Lennon to side-foot home his fifth goal since the turn of the year.
It could have got even worse for Villa before half-time but Mirallas had a shot blocked in front of goal by Joleon Lescott.
A third goal seemed only a matter of time, though, and it duly came on the hour.
Guzan delayed the inevitable with a superb save from Romelu Lukaku’s header but within moments he was picking the ball out of his net as Seamus Coleman drilled over a cross which Lukaku steered home from close range for his 22nd goal of the season.
Everton hope the new investment coming into Goodison will allow them to keep Lukaku as a spearhead for a future assault on Europe. Villa, meanwhile, are heading the other way and the fans who walked out probably did not care they missed a headed consolation goal from substitute Rudy Gestede.
Aston Villa (3-5-2): Guzan; Richards, Lescott, Clark; Hutton, Bacuna, Gana, Westwood (Veretout 71), Cissokho; Agbonlahor (Gestede 66), Ayew. Booked: Gana, Clark, Bacuna. Goal: Gestede 79. Next UP: Man City (a), Sat PL.
Everton (4-2-3-1): Robles; Coleman (Stones 73), Jagielka, Funes Mori, Oviedo (Baines 81); McCarthy, Barry; Lennon, Barkley, Mirallas (Niasse 88); Lukaku. Booked: Lukaku. Goals: Funes Mori 5, Lennon 30, Lukaku 60. Next UP: West Ham (h), Sat PL.
Referee: R East (Wiltshire).
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