*Aston Villa ended their nine-match winless league run as they won at Crystal Palace to leave the Eagles two points above the relegation zone.*

Christian Benteke curled home low into the net from 18 yards, after Scott Dann lost the ball, for Villa’s opener and his first goal of the season.

The hosts enjoyed a lot of the ball but were let down by a poor final delivery.

Andreas Weimann was denied a second by Julian Speroni’s block as Villa moved three points above their opponents.

Belgian striker Benteke, returning from suspension, was making just his fifth appearance of the season having missed the first three months of the campaign with a ruptured Achilles.

And his presence proved key as his strike from Villa’s only real chance of the match showed Palace, who had 17 shots, the importance of being clinical.

Both sides went into the match anxiously looking over their shoulders, with just two points separating them and the Premier League bottom three.

But, while Palace had been buoyed by a win at home to Liverpool and a draw at Swansea in their last two games, Villa were on the back of a nine-match winless run - their worst in the league under boss Paul Lambert.

Three successive draws had at least ended a run of six straight defeats but, with just seven goals in 13 matches, the Premier League’s lowest scorers desperately needed a result to lift the growing gloom around the club.

For a side so short of goals, it was a surprise to many to see their £18m striker Darren Bent loaned out to Brighton, while Roy Keane’s midweek departure as Villa’s assistant manager has also raised eyebrows.

Manchester United loanee Wilfried Zaha, making just his fourth league start of the season for the Eagles, looked like a man with a point to prove on the right wing as the visitors struggled to cope with a high-tempo start.

With Yannick Bolasie and Zaha on either flank and Dwight Gayle partnering Marouane Chamakh in attack, an adventurous Palace line-up looked more than capable of causing Villa’s defence problems.

A poor final ball was letting the hosts down though and Villa, who lost Joe Cole with a hamstring injury early on, took advantage with Christian Benteke’s low curling opener after Scott Dann was dispossessed 45 yards from goal.

Palace, looking for back-to-back home wins for the first time since April, continued on the front foot after the break but were again let down in the final third as goalkeeper Brad Guzan was left relatively untroubled to allow Villa to hold on to an important win.