Morgan Rogers' superb goal set Aston Villa on their way to a commanding 3-1 home victory over Brentford, ending their eight-match winless streak in all competitions.
Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash were all on target in a 13-minute flurry of goals in the first half that proved decisive at Villa Park.
An impressive victory saw Unai Emery's side end their alarming recent run of form, which had included collecting just two points from their last five Premier League games.
A long-range strike from Rogers midway through the first half broke the deadlock, and Watkins swiftly doubled the lead with a penalty kick he had won himself.
Cash's thumping volley stretched the advantage further, with Mikkel Damsgaard's early second-half strike only proving to be a consolation for Brentford, who continue to struggle away from home.
The hosts return to the Premier League's top half in seventh place on 22 points – two more than Thomas Frank's side, who slip to ninth.
Data Debrief: Villa end drought as Bees' tricky travels continue
Emery was in danger of overseeing a nine-match winless streak for the first time in his managerial career.
However, Villa ensured that would not be the case with a clinical first-half display. Watkins was on target for the fourth time in his last three appearances against his former club.
The hosts have now lost just one of their last 12 league games at Villa Park, where Brentford have now failed to win in 10 league attempts.
Not only that, but just one of the Bees' 20 points this season have been registered away from home. Though a cause for concern, Frank's side are still well placed in the table.
Guardiola questioning himself as Man City struggles continue
Pep Guardiola is questioning himself amid Manchester City's dire run of form, though he disagreed with Ilkay Gundogan's criticism of their performance against Juventus.
City are at risk of missing out on a Champions League play-off place after slipping to a 2-0 defeat in Turin on Wednesday, a result that leaves them 22nd in the 36-team table.
City have now lost seven of their last 10 matches across all competitions (one win, two draws), as many defeats as they suffered in their previous 105.
Since the start of November, meanwhile, they have conceded more goals across all competitions than any other team from Europe's top five leagues (21 in nine matches).
Following a 4-1 loss to Sporting CP and a 3-3 draw with Feyenoord, Guardiola has failed to win three straight Champions League group-stage games for the first time in his managerial career, while 2014-15 was the last time City endured a longer such run (four without winning).
Guardiola admits he is second guessing his own methods, but he insists City played well enough to warrant a result in Italy, saying: "Of course I question myself but I'm stable in good moments and bad moments.
"I try to find a way to do it. I'm incredibly honest. If we play good, I say we played good and today I thought we played good."
After the match, midfielder Gundogan told TNT Sports that City were "careless" in duels and were conceding too many dangerous attacks.
But with City enjoying 68.9% of the possession against Juventus and more than doubling the Bianconeri's tallies for touches in the box (34 to 13) and final-third entries (59 to 24), Guardiola remains content with many aspects of their performance.
"I am not agreeing with Ilkay," Guardiola said. "Of course it is tough but, except one or two games in this period, we've played good.
"Our game will save us. We can do it. We conceded few chances compared to the Nottingham Forest game that we won. We're making the right tempo.
"We missed the last pass, did not arrive in the six-yard box or have the composure at the right moment.
"But I love my team. This is life, it happens. Sometimes you have a bad period, but I'm going to insist until we're there."
Paris Saint-Germain and Club Brugge will be City's final two opponents in the first phase of the Champions League, as they visit France on January 22 before hosting the Belgians one week later.
Schlotterbeck injury is a 'complete disaster' for Dortmund, says Sahin
Borussia Dortmund have added defender Nico Schlotterbeck to their ever-growing injury list after he turned his ankle during their 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The news of Schlotterbeck's injury comes just a day after head coach Nuri Sahin said Niklas Sule would be a long-term absentee, while Waldemar Anton is also unavailable.
Sahin said Schlotterbeck's absence would be a major blow after he was injured in the final move of the game while putting a header over in an attempt to equalise.
The 25-year-old was taken off the pitch on a stretcher and Sahin did not hold back when asked about the potential impact of his absence.
"It would be a complete disaster if he was also sidelined," Sahin said. "I don't have a diagnosis yet but obviously he is completely dejected.
"I saw the images and they are horrible. We will have a sleepless night tonight and then we will have to see how it develops tomorrow."
Dortmund's injury list has stretched to as many as 10 players at points this season and has taken its toll on their results.
The German side are currently sixth in the Bundesliga, 12 points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
The defeat to Barcelona on Wednesday, meanwhile, saw them drop to ninth in the Champions League table – one place outside the automatic last-16 qualifying spots.
"I am fuming because we played well," said Sahin. "We have to win these games. We deserved more in the second half.
"I do not want to hear that we played a good game. There is no room for mistakes and we have to learn that.
"We keep up with these top teams but in the end I want to sit here and say, 'we won the game'. That is the development we need."
Ashworth's shock exit 'not the best situation', says Amorim
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has acknowledged the departure of sporting director Dan Ashworth is "not the best situation".
Ashworth had spent just 159 days with the club before his surprise exit was announced on Sunday, although Amorim believes the club's vision for the future remains unchanged.
"The first thing I want to say is that, since the first day, I felt great support from the ownership," said Amorim, who took charge on November 11.
"From Omar [Berrada, chief executive], from Dan also, from Jason [Wilcox, technical director]. Dan was part of that, and I really felt support from Dan also.
"But this is football and sometimes these things happen. It happens with players, with coaches.
"I know that it's not the best situation but the important thing is we continue in our way. The path is really clear for everybody and I think this can happen in football."
Amorim himself has only been in the job at Old Trafford for one month, having won two and drawn one of his five matches in charge in all competitions.
During the same press conference, he was asked whether he felt that the club was more unstable than when he had arrived last month.
"I don't think so," he said. "I've felt since day one the support from everybody, so one person leaving doesn't change anything.
"Of course, it's a bad situation, because we are talking about a human being, a professional, that supports us as a team.
"But I think the most important thing is that your vision is really clear and that vision doesn't change if only one person leaves."
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