Aston Villa 2 Ipswich 1
Recalled record signing Juan Pablo Angel ended Aston Villa's recent lean spell in the Premiership with a two-goal blast and piled on more misery for bottom club Ipswich Town.
The Colombian international, whom Villa manager John Gregory has admitted he may have to sell to finance new signings, had been an unused substitute for the previous two games with West Ham and Arsenal.
But he showed the predator's instinct to enable Villa to recover from trailing to a Finidi George goal and join the growing pack of clubs clambering to make an impact at the top of the table.
The ex River Plate player took his goal tally for the season to 10 as Villa finally emerged from a rocky spell of three points in six games since going into pole position in late October.
It was not a vintage performance by any stretch of the imagination and Villa had to survive an awkward finale from George Burley's side.