Swansea push Villa closer to the drop

Swansea hammered another nail into Aston Villa's Premier League coffin on Saturday with the softest of goals earning the Welsh side a 1-0 victory that may well secure their safety for another season.

Villa keeper Brad Guzan came off his line in the 53rd minute only to flap hopelessly at a free-kick curled in by Gylfi Sigurdsson and tip the ball on to a grateful Federico Fernandez's shoulder and into the net.

The woeful defending in a game of poor quality seemed to sum up the visitors' hapless season as they suffered a sixth successive league defeat, leaving them marooned at the bottom of the table, eight points behind second from bottom Newcastle United.

Manager Francesco Guidolin was left celebrating in his first game back on the touchline since he was taken to hospital with a chest infection as the Swans, enjoying two successive home victories for the first time since August, moved 11 points clear of the relegation zone in 15th place.