*Saido Berahino scored on his first start since threatening to go on strike as West Brom beat a lacklustre Aston Villa in a West Midlands derby.*

The Baggies edged the first half and almost took the lead within 60 seconds when Salomon Rondon’s header was palmed away by Brad Guzan.

Their breakthrough came soon before the break when Berahino stuck out a foot to steer James Morrison’s shot home.

Villa improved slightly after the break but never looked like equalising.

Berahino tweeted on transfer deadline day that he “will never play” after being refused a move to Tottenham, but he came on in their last game against Southampton and started at Villa Park.

The 22-year-old was paired up front with Salomon Rondon but played a fairly deep role as our graphic shows. His one touch in the Villa box was his goal, as he poked Morrison’s effort home.

He was replaced by Craig Gardner after 67 minutes and all his problems appeared to be forgotten as he was central to Albion’s post-match celebrations with manager Tony Pulis and team-mates.

*Villa’s struggles continue*

After throwing away a two-goal lead last weekend to lose to Leicester, Villa boss Tim Sherwood said “I’ve never felt this bad. Ever”. He will not have seen much to improve his mood in this West Midlands derby.

Villa’s long-suffering home fans have now seen them pick up only 71 points from 73 home Premier League games since December 2011 - with little from this performance indicating things are about to change.

The hosts were outplayed in the first half and Sherwood’s decision to replace pacy Scott Sinclair with target man Rudy Gestede at half-time did little to turn things around.

Their three shots on target all came in the second half but they were all routine saves for Boaz Myhill

“Desperate from Villa”

*Martin Keown on BBC Radio 5 live:*

”It was desperate from Aston Villa today. Long balls are all they seem to have.

“We saw how disappointed Tim Sherwood was after last week’s result but he needs to keep his head because he’ll be hurting now after this defeat by Villa’s local rivals.

“Essentially, West Brom were just too good.”