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John Carew, Olof Mellberg and Gabriel Agbonlahor scored as the pressure has increased considerably on Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate as his side succumbed to Martin O'Neill's brilliant Aston Villa side.
Boro have not won a single league game since September 1, a run of nine fixtures which has yielded only three points.
Aston Villa looked the better team throughout, and John Carew gave them the lead in first half stoppage time with a smart turn and shot past keeper Mark Schwarzer.
They increased their advantage shortly after the restart when Olof Mellberg made the most of a terrible error from midfielder Lee Cattermole.
And the points were safe within the hour through Gabriel Agbonlahor to leave Boro in deep trouble. The goal was made by Scott Carson, his huge goalkick bounced three times before Agbonlahor muscled past the Boro defence to fire to past a helpless Schwarzer.
Villa really did deserve their third straight win for the first time under O'Neill. Gareth Southgate might be looking for a new job if his side continues to look as useless as they did today.
Written by majicka
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