SAVO MILOSEVIC upstaged English football's exhibition match for visiting Eurocrats with a hat-trick for Aston Villa to plunge Coventry back into the relegation mire.

The UEFA delegates, in Birmingham for today's European Championship draw, saw blood and controversy as well as a brilliant goal from Tommy Johnson.

As so often in the Premiership these days, the show was stolen by a foreigner. The Serb striker finally ended his home jinx with his first Villa Park goals since his £3.5m move from Partizan Belgrade.

Coventry, wrecked by Kevin Richardson's sending off against his former teammates, could offer only a single reply from Dion Dublin to cushion a miserable return for Ron Atkinson to the club that sacked him 13 months ago.

Richardson had been booked after just two minutes for a heavy tackle on Mark Draper and played on with blood gushing from his nose after receiving a boot in the face from Johnson.

It was much later that he exacted revenge with a late cut at Johnson's ankles that sparked a brief but fierce retaliation.

The off-the-ball flare-up was spotted by referee Paul Alcock, who showed him his second fellow card before the red but ignored Johnson.

By then Johnson had put Villa comfortably in charge with a superb solo strike after. He rode three challenges on a relentless drive into the area, climaxed by a cracking right foot shot into the top corner.

Villa were hit by the loss of Dwight Yorke with concussion but it looked all over when Milosevic at last opened his Villa Park account in his ninth home league game.

He rose like a salmon to meet Townsend's 48th minute cross from the left to plant a powerful header past stand-in goalkeeper John Filan.

Dublin continued his one-man survival act for Coventry, heading in his ninth goal in as many games from Paul Teller's cross after 55 minutes.

But it was never going to be enough and Milosevic delighted the Villa fans with a second goal his seventh of the season eight minutes later when he was left criminally unmarked at the far post for a simple downward header from Draper's cross.

He missed an easy chance for his hat trick from Alan Wright's pass moments later, sidefooting wide of a gaping goal.

But it was only a temporary disappointment as substitute Andy Townsend intercepted Busst's dreadful 80th minute clearance and sent the Serb clear on the left. Though suspiciously offside, the flag stayed down and he neatly chipped the goalkeeper with his left foot.