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Aston Villa eased to a 5-1 Premier League thumping of Bolton Wanderers after a dominant display at Villa Park.

Ashley Young (pictured), Gabriel Agbonlahor, John Carew, James Milner and Carlos Cuellar scored for the hosts, with Johan Elmander on target for Bolton, who contributed little otherwise and should have lost by more but for straightforward chances missed by Carew, Agbonlahor and Richard Dunne.

Villa capitalised on slack defending by their former centre-halves Gary Cahill and Zat Knight for two of the goals and hit a comedy fourth after Milner initially missed his penalty.

Defender Cuellar added a fifth as the Trotters crumbled under incessant pressure from the dominant Villains.

Villa dominated a typically rough-and-tumble first half and took an early lead when Young pounced on the rebound to fire into the roof of the net after Jussi Jaaskelainen did well to bat out John Carew's downward header.

The Finnish keeper had already been called into action when Cuellar flicked on Young's corner, with the Villa winger in fine form with the dead ball.

Agbonlahor hit over after turning on to Carew's flick-on, while Dunne headed wide when found unmarked by an Young corner and Carew headed weakly at Jaaskelainen when found unmarked by Milner's cross.

Three minutes before the break the hosts got the second goal their dominance deserved when Cahill slipped as he tried to shepherd the ball behind for a goal kick.

His mistake - both to fall and not to opt for safety-first in clearing to touch - let Carew find Agbonlahor, who finished between Jaaskelainen's legs.

But the Trotters pulled one back two minutes later when Elmander - who was brought on as a 30th-minute substitute for the ineffectual Tamir Cohen - finished from close range after Cahill struck the post.

That goal, which came after a brief spell of Bolton pressure, gave the visitors confidence coming out for the second half, and Fabrice Muamba tested Brad Friedel with a sweet volley from the edge of the box after a Kevin Davies flick-on caused problems in the Villa box.

But Villa eased back into the driving seat and, after Agbonlahor saw a shot blocked by Knight, they re-established their two-goal lead after Knight weakly allowed Carew to shrug him off in the box and finish into the bottom right.

Martin O'Neill's side started to close the game out but were handed the chance for a fourth when Davies shoved over Carew as he prepared to head in another excellent Young free-kick.

Milner stepped up to take the penalty but Jaaskelainen made a great save low to his right. Agbonlahor should have tucked away the rebound but his effort clattered off the post and, with Bolton apparently uninterested in clearing their lines, Milner was able to prod in the loose ball.

Lee Chung-Yong had a superb volley flash just wide for Bolton but Villa added a fifth when Milner popped up on the left and fired a wicked near-post cross that Cuellar got the faintest of touches to send spinning beyond Jaaskelainen and into the bottom right.

Young had a direct free-kick well-saved by the Finn in injury time as Villa, following Manchester City's draw with Burnley, move fifth while Bolton hover one point above the relegation zone with West Ham and Wolves, 17th and 18th, still to play.

Reda Maher / Eurosport