*Villa sink their teeth into Toffees*

Aston Villa with three sharply executed goals from Julian Joachim, Dion Dublin and Ian Taylor maintained their 100 per cent record last night and in so doing eased their way past Arsenal to the top of the Premiership. It was a lamentable performance by Everton who had John Collins sent off in the 49th minute after his second yellow card.

In truth Villa never needed to be anything much above the ordinary to win this match with Everton, all too predictably, never looking likely to score. Once Collins had been sent off their defence became as shoddy as their attack.

Taylor merely added to their deepening miseries when he volleyed the third goal six minutes before the close, a strike which accentuated the disparity between the two teams.

Villa made a buoyant start to last season, rising to the top of the Premiership in a gust of optimism. They remained there virtually unchallenged until after Christmas when that initial energy and brio was gradually dissipated as Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea drew second breath and raised the pace.

This year the fans and, more pertinently, the club’s chairman Doug Ellis are not expecting John Gregory’s side to fade away so soon and another confident beginning was made on Saturday with a 1-0 away victory against Newcastle United. The goal came courtesy of Joachim who was even quicker to find a way past Everton’s defences this time.

Everton’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Sunday had lifted their own confidence after yet another flirtation with relegation last season.

Villa were well aware that an early goal would place enormous pressure on Everton’s fragile attacking powers and Joachim did the biz.

It was a ball from Ehiogu that put the sweetest of openings into motion. Dublin beat Gough in the air, placing the ball into the path of a sprinting Joachim who smouldered into the penalty area with Weir choking on the ashes.

Gerrard advanced dutifully in the face of an already lost cause and although he managed to get the smallest of touches to the Villa striker’s shot he did not stand an earthly of preventing the goal. The goalkeeper beat his hands on the lush early season turf and pointed at his defence with forlorn frustration.

Collins finally achieved Everton’s first direct shot on goal just after half time, one comfortably saved by David James, but the Scot had no chance to think of another one before he was sent off for a second yellow card, a repeat of an earlier mis-timed tackle on Mark Delaney.

Worse was quickly to follow as Everton conceded a second goal. Alan Thompson accelerated hard at their defence before releasing the ball to Alan Wright on the left whose rather gentle cross was volleyed in right footed by Dublin who was standing all alone by the penalty spot. It was, more or less, the Villa striker’s last act as he gave way to Paul Merson. But the damage had been done.