*Aston Villa returned to winning ways in style after romping past Bolton in a bruising encounter at Villa Park.*

Ashley Young opened the scoring from close range early on before Gabriel Agbonlahor slammed home a second.

Johan Elmander tapped in to reduce the deficit but a fine individual goal from John Carew made the game safe.

James Milner then slotted home the rebound after missing a penalty and Carlos Cuellar headed his first Villa goal as the hosts totally dominated.

Villa fans had not seen their team win since their 2-1 home victory against Chelsea in mid-October and will be grateful to man-of-the-match Carew for inspiring a dominant display.

The giant Norwegian striker bullied the Bolton defence all afternoon, and had a hand in everything good from Villa in the final third.

The defeat means Bolton are still without a clean sheet in the Premier League this season and ensures Gary Megson still has a lot of work ahead to unravel his side’s serious defensive frailties.

The visitors had fielded two ex-Villa players in Gary Cahill and Zat Knight at the heart of their defence, with Cahill publicly stating before the game that he intended to prove Martin O’Neill wrong for selling him.

But his intentions were not realised, as the sheer power of Carew combined with the pace of Young and Milner caused the visiting defence all sorts of problems throughout the game.

The warning signs were there for all to see in the early stages as Villa started the game in ominous fashion - Cuellar forcing Jussi Jaaskelainen into a smart save after only five minutes.

But the visitors failed to learn from their early lapses as Villa moved ahead.

Carew out-muscled Cahill and powered a header at goal and although Jaaskelainen saved well low to his left he could only parry the ball into the path of the advancing Young who smashed high into the net.

Megson’s side did force their way back into the game - in no small part thanks to tireless efforts from Fabrice Muamba in midfield and Kevin Davies in attack.

Indeed, the Bolton boss deserved credit for his bold decision to replace midfielder Tamir Cohen with striker Elmander midway through the first half - reverting to a more-attacking 4-4-2 formation.

But Cahill’s chances of impressing his former boss were all but ended after a monumental blunder on 43 minutes.

The centre-half attempted to shepherd the ball out of play but reckoned without the might of Carew, who duly brushed aside his opponent and crossed for Agbonlahor to drive through the legs of Jaaskelainen.

Villa were well worth their two-goal lead, but let themselves down by conceding just before the break as Bolton valiantly hit back.

A missed header from Cuellar allowed Cahill to shoot on goal. The ball deflected off a diving Richard Dunne and against the post, allowing Elmander to gleefully tap home.

It was hardly a goal that epitomised the adventurous style of play Megson had asked for before the match, but the Bolton manager will not have cared a jot.

But it was the power of surely the strongest player on the pitch - Carew - that took the game beyond the visitors.

Milner, impressive again on the right, slipped the ball into the feet of the Norwegian who had his back to goal and the close attentions of Knight to contend with.

But the defender was quickly left on his backside as Carew showed amazing strength in turning, before brushing aside the flagging Cahill and drilling home.

That opened the floodgates for the hosts, who quickly moved further ahead.

Davies was penalised for a push on Carew in the box, and although Milner’s poor spot-kick was saved by Jaaskelainen and the first rebound woefully struck against the post by Steve Sidwell, Milner redeemed himself to finally slot home.

The game was already well won by the time Cuellar back-headed his first Villa goal after another teasing cross from Milner, leaving the hapless Bolton defence, and an increasingly under-pressure Megson, with much to ponder.

*Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill:*

“It’s very pleasing. It’s great to come to Villa Park.

“The crowd are right behind us and we’ve started to win here which is very important.

“We’ve had a tough run on the road since we last won here against Chelsea. The defeat against West Ham was very difficult to take.

“The players were ready, we got out of the blocks quickly and I’m really pleased with the performance.”