BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) -Aston Villa chalked up their 12th successive Premier League win at home with a comfortable 3-1 victory over struggling Luton Town as they maintained their top-four challenge on Sunday.
John McGinn’s 17th-minute strike separated the sides at halftime but Villa made their domination count after the break.
Moussa Diaby rifled in a shot four minutes into the second half and an own goal by Luton’s Tom Lockyer just past the hour mark left the visitors reeling.
To their credit, Luton continued to play with great energy and they earned a consolation thanks to another bizarre own goal credited to Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez.
Villa have now scored 20 goals in their five home league games this season and have 22 points from their 10 games, just four points behind leaders Tottenham Hotspur.
Luton are third from bottom with five points.
Villa are now only one home win from matching the record 13-game winning streak at Villa Park set by their 1983 vintage side. Only Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in Europe’s major leagues are on longer winning home runs.
“Very satisfied. These three points are very important for us. Only I can be not very happy with the goal we conceded because it was a strange mistake,” said Emery, who has worked wonders at Villa since taking over a year ago.
“It is a process, we are building a team. Of course I am happy but still being serious, serious in the way I want to build here and improve more.”
Villa’s confidence was obvious as they dominated the opening exchanges and it was no surprise when McGinn put them in front with a fine finish following a pass by Douglas Luiz.
They had to wait until the second half to pull clear though with a long ball forward releasing Diaby who drilled an angled shot past Luton keeper Thomas Kaminski.
Diaby played a big part in his side’s third goal as his low cross was turned in by Luton skipper Lockyer under pressure from the lurking Ollie Watkins.
The only blot on Villa’s copybook was a rather comical own goal in which defender Ezri Konsa attempted to head the ball back to Martinez but it looped over him, struck the bar and bounced in off the unfortunate Argentine.
Luton’s season will not hinge on results against teams near the top but it is clear they will need to learn fast if they are to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.
“They made it very tough for us but good learning I would say for us,” Luton manager Rob Edwards said.
“Our strength will be sticking together.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)
