Sunderland 0-4 Aston Villa

Sunderland have been in the Premier League since 2007

• Villa win third game in a row under Sherwood

• Villa three points clear of relegation zone

• Sunderland slip down to 17th

• Home fans turn on boss Poyet

Aston Villa's revival under Tim Sherwood continued as they hammered hapless Sunderland to pile the pressure on manager Gus Poyet.

Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke both scored twice in the first half to give Villa their first goals and win away from home since December.

Sunderland, who have now won just one of their last 12 league games, were booed off at half-time and at the end.

Poyet was targeted by unhappy fans with his side now deep in relegation danger.

Villa, who have now won back-to-back Premier League games and advanced to the semi-finals of the FA Cup under Sherwood, had previously managed only four goals away from home this season.

But they scored almost at will in an embarrassingly one-sided first half at the Stadium of Light which could have dire consequences for Poyet.

Home fans started to leave after the third goal went in after 37 minutes.

And some supporters had to be restrained by security staff as they attempted to get near Poyet - who sat impassively in the dugout almost throughout - as Villa went 4-0 up before the break.

Sunderland's supporters have seen just two home league wins and 12 goals at the Stadium of Light ths season

Sunderland's plight was summed up by farcical scenes at the start of the second half as they kicked off with 10 men before midfielder Seb Larsson limped out of the dressing room to rejoin the action almost four minutes after the restart.

Patience had already been wearing thin on Wearside with Sunderland winning just twice at home so far this season.

After replacing Paolo Di Canio in October 2013, Poyet kept Sunderland up last season thanks to a remarkable run of four wins in their last five games.

But that momentum was not maintained and the Black Cats, with just one league win since Christmas and only four in total this season, are now only one point above the relegation places.

Villa appear to be going the right way under Sherwood, a former team-mate of Poyet's at Tottenham Hotspur, following his appointment at the start of last month.

The Midlanders looked highly impressive in brushing aside the feeble challenge of Sunderland to leapfrog their opponents into 16th and give their survival hopes added momentum.

With Agbonlahor and Benteke reunited in attack, Villa cut Sunderland apart almost every time they went forward.

The home side also failed to deal with the threat of Charles N'Zogbia and winger Leandro Bacuna.

It was Bacuna's cross that allowed Benteke to side-foot Villa ahead after 16 minutes and within two minutes it was 2-0 as Agbonlahor gave John O'Shea the slip before beating Costel Pantilimon from a tight angle.

Agbonlahor waltzed through Sunderland's porous defence to steer home the third and Benteke headed the fourth from another Bacuna cross to spark the unrest around the home support.

Villa, who gave 16-year-old Birmingham-born striker Rushian Hepburn-Murphy a debut as a substitute, cruised through the second half with Sunderland denied a late goal when Steven Fletcher's effort came back off a post.

Tim Sherwood and Gus Poyet spent two seasons as team-mates at Tottenham

Gabriel Agbonlahor scored at the Stadium of Light for the third season running and took his total for the season to six

Sunderland have failed to beat Aston Villa in eight Premier League meetings

Christian Benteke has now scored five Premier League goals this season