Aston Villa slumped to a fifth consecutive defeat this evening as Queens Park Rangers picked up a 2-0 victory at Loftus Road to lift them off the bottom of the table.
Charlie Austin got a goal either side of half time to hand his side just their second win of the campaign, firing a strike in from the edge of the box to open the scoring before converting at the front post to wrap up the points.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at who impressed during the clash between two struggling teams.
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QPR
Goal
Rob Green: Distribution was questionable at times, but made an important contribution with a double save in the second half that maintained the two-goal margin. (7/10)
Defence
Mauricio Isla: Carried the ball out of defence well on more than one occasion, and also did his defensive duties expertly, picking up more interceptions and tackles than any other player. (7/10)
Richard Dunne: Repaid Redknapp's faith in him with a fine performance having scored an own goal last weekend. Didn't give Benteke a sniff and made a number of important blocks throughout. Also supplied the long ball forward that led to the opening goal. (8/10)
Steven Caulker: Wasn't involved as much as his centre-back partner, but still a solid display from the defender to help his side to just their second clean sheet of the season. (7/10)
Yoon Suk-young: Dealt with the threat of Weimann comfortably and was assured in possession too. A good display from the South Korean full-back. (7/10)
Midfield
Eduardo Vargas: Missed a glorious chance to make it 3-0 at the end of a magnificent team move, but did pick up the assist for the second with a fine run and cross. (7/10)
Karl Henry: A good source of energy and pressing in the middle of the park, preventing the Villa midfield from passing their way through QPR. (7/10)
Sandro: Made a vital block to deny Villa what looked like a certain equaliser. Grew into the game after a shaky start in possession, and overall put in a good performance. (7/10)
Leroy Fer: Deployed in an unfamiliar wide role, but was his usual combative self in the tackle. Failed to threaten going forward as much as he did against Liverpool, though. (6/10)
Attack
Bobby Zamora: Not quite the unplayable character we saw against Liverpool, but still had a big say on the match with the assist for the opening goal. (7/10)
Charlie Austin: The match winner and best player on the park. Took both of his goals expertly and never stopped working for the team. (8/10)
Substitutes
Junior Hoilett: Struck the post with a lovely curling effort shortly after coming on. Gave his side a good outlet to relieve any pressure. (7/10)
Armand Traore: Replaced Vargas in the 87th minute and had one shot blocked, but didn't have enough time to really make a difference. (6/10)
Niko Kranjcar: Came on for the final minute as QPR looked to wind the clock down. (6/10)
ASTON VILLA
Goal
Brad Guzan: Could do nothing about either goal, and had very little action other than to pick the ball out of the net. Did make one very good stop to deny Vargas a third QPR goal. (6/10)
Defence
Matthew Lowton: Saw plenty of the ball on his return to the side, but struggled to make any serious headway going forward. (6/10)
Ron Vlaar: Out-muscled by Zamora as he chested the ball down for the opening goal. Didn't have too much to do aside from that, and helped to handle the physical threat of Zamora on other occasions. (6/10)
Ciaran Clark: Had a number of half-chances in the opposition box, but couldn't convert any of them. Did his job at the back fairly well and could do little about either goal. (6/10)
Aly Cissokho: Saw plenty of the ball and was up and down the left flank all night, but didn't make the most of some decent crossing positions. Provided some good width for his side, though. (6/10)
Midfield
Tom Cleverley: Struggled to make much of an impact in midfield despite Villa having the vast majority of the possession. (5/10)
Ashley Westwood: Was one of his side's better players in the opening exchanges with some tidy passes that looked to have QPR on the back foot at times. Came close with a shot of his own, but faded slightly as the match progressed. (6/10)
Carlos Sanchez: Was the best of his side's players for the vast majority of the match, looking tidy in possession and testing Green with a fine volley from distance. However, gave the ball away twice in quick succession after the break, the second of which led directly to the goal that clinched the points. (5/10)
Attack
Gabriel Agbonlahor: Failed to trouble the QPR defence as Villa struggled to break through. A quiet and ineffective display from the winger. (5/10)
Christian Benteke: Had a couple of sights of goal, but still seemed to be lacking sharpness following his recent return from injury. Became more of a target as the match wore on, but failed to really trouble the QPR defence. (5/10)
Andreas Weimann: Cannot be faulted for effort, but joined his fellow attackers in a fruitless display tonight. Had one decent chance with a header at the back post, but couldn't get enough on his effort. (5/10)
Substitutes
Joe Cole: Came on straight after the second goal, but could not provide the spark needed for a comeback. Wasted some decent positions with overhit passes, and also got in Benteke's way to ruin a good chance. (5/10)
Darren Bent: Joined Cole in a double change with 20 minutes remaining and showed a couple of good flicks, but was not on the same page as Benteke. (6/10)
Barney Corkhill
