Swansea City produced a superb away performance to knock an unusually lacklustre Aston Villa side out of the FA Cup in the third round.*

Courtney Baker-Richardson bundled in the opener from close range inside two minutes and the visitors were effective on the counter-attack thereafter.

Nathan Dyer doubled the lead with a crisp finish shortly after half-time.

The Swans’ place in round four was sealed when Jay Fulton tapped in the third in the closing stages.

The defeat saw seven-time winners Villa knocked out at the third-round stage for a third consecutive season.

On-loan Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, who is expected to complete a loan move to Wolves next week, was not involved for the hosts, and his replacement Scott Hogan went closest to scoring for Villa.

He was denied by a fine save from Swans keeper Erwin Mulder in the first half, with two-time semi-finalists Swansea otherwise creating the better openings in this all-Championship tie.

Dyer’s well-taken goal was his first since an FA Cup match in February 2018, the 31-year-old firing in from Leroy Fer’s excellent ball.

Villa, who were 1-0 winners at Swansea on Boxing Day to complete a league double over the Welsh side, gave a debut to Croatia keeper Lovre Kalinic, but he conceded quickly when Baker-Richardson netted his second senior goal.

And it was ultimately a fine day for Swans boss Graham Potter - a former player for Villa’s local rivals Birmingham City - who was taking charge of his first FA Cup game as a manager.

*Swansea City manager Graham Potter said:*

”It was a fine performance to get off to a great start to score within two minutes and then Erwin Mulder made a fantastic save.

“It goes to show that even in a good overall performance there is always a moment you have to survive.

“But when you look at the game over 90 minutes we generally had control and scored some good goals at the right times. As such we dampened any momentum Villa picked up in the second half.

“I am delighted with my players. Their attitude and desire to try was fantastic. We had some good quality and it was a fine win.”

*Aston Villa boss Dean Smith said:*

”I never saw this defeat coming. It is the first game in which the lads have not shown enough energy, commitment or desire.

“We made a good start but Swansea then took control, looked sharper, much brighter and passed the ball with more energy. I made some changes but we didn’t take our chances.”