Life after Steven Gerrard got off to a superb start for Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon as they thrashed Brentford 4-0 at Villa Park.

Leon Bailey opened the scoring in just the second minute before Danny Ings' brace had the home side 3-0 up before there were 15 minutes on the clock.

Ollie Watkins made it 4-0 against his former club in the second half to ensure that Villa moved away from the bottom three under the guidance of interim manager Aaron Danks.

Considering Villa had scored just seven goals in the top flight prior to today, it was a hugely impressive performance from Danks' side and there were plenty of man-of-the-match contenders.

While Ings grabbed an important brace, it was arguably Bailey who stole the show, as he produced arguably his best performance in a Villa shirt.

The Jamaica international kicked things off with a well-taken finish from Douglas Luiz's pass inside two minutes, before picking up an assist for Ings by cutting the ball back for the former Burnley man to slam past David Raya.

Bailey also played a huge role in Villa's fourth and final goal of the game, as he went on a storming run from essentially his own corner flag before crossing for Watkins, who was able to find the net on the third attempt after being initially denied by Raya and then the post.

The former Bayer Leverkusen man, who cost a whopping £30m, was very consistent with his passing at Villa Park, completing 14/15 passes to register a 93% success rate, which is a significant increase on the 70.7% he has averaged in the Premier League so far this season.

The Villa winger also contributed two key passes and two dribbles, which again is an increase on the 0.9 key passes and 1.3 dribbles he has averaged in the top flight so far this campaign.

Gerrard hinted at the 25-year-old's quality earlier in the season but he was never really able to produce Sunday's level of performance under the Liverpool legend.

He said:

"We’ve signed a talent who has produced at his previous clubs and he’s shown flashes. Leon’s focus has to be on staying fit, getting himself in the best physical condition and allowing his talent to flourish. He’s a fantastic player and we need to see more of it."

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Therefore, while Ings may dominate the headlines after his double, Bailey's role in three of the four goals suggests that he should be recognised as Danks' star performer on Sunday.