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Leaders Wolves fell to their heaviest Championship defeat of the season as they were taken apart by Aston Villa.

After Albert Adomah's early close-range strike for Villa, Wolves' top scorer Diogo Jota levelled in similar fashion.

But two goals in five second-half minutes from James Chester and Lewis Grabban were added to by Birkir Bjarnason's late fourth.

Coupled with Cardiff's home win earlier in the day, the defeat left Wolves three points clear at the top.

Perhaps equally importantly, third-placed Villa's avenging of their 2-0 derby defeat at Molineux in October cut the deficit on Wolves to seven points with 10 games left to play.

Villa cashed in a bright start when they went ahead from Robert Snodgrass' left-wing corner. Wolves captain Danny Batth sliced his attempted clearance of Mile Jedinak's header and the ball fell for Adomah, who got in ahead of Grabban to slide home his 14th league goal this season from a yard out.

If that was decidedly scrappy, so was Wolves' equaliser.

After a close escape when home skipper John Terry had to hook away from underneath his own bar, Wolves then attacked down the right through Matt Doherty, who nutmegged Neil Taylor before sending in a wicked low cross.

Chester could only got a toe on it to divert it away from goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and the alert Jota bundled his way in ahead of Elmohamady to net his 13th league goal of the season.

At half-time the match could have gone either way, but Villa went back in front after 57 minutes with the first of two quick-fire strikes, when Chester got on the end of another Snodgrass left-wing delivery to turn in his second goal in five days.

Five minutes later, from Adomah's left-wing cross from the byline, January loan signing Grabban arrived at the near post to get in ahead of Willy Boly and steer in his 16th of the season - and fourth for Villa in successive games.

And there was still time for the solo goal of the game when Iceland international Bjarnarson waltzed past three players before toe-poking home from 18 yards.

Villa manager Steve Bruce told ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport:

"We played very well and we needed to against a decent team. It was a great advert for the Championship. There's 10 games to go and we've given ourselves a chance

"Wolves have got some very good players. How they got here, that's another question that I don't want to get involved with.

"But we've got some good players too. We're a threat going forward and they all put a shift in defensively too.

"The only thing I demand from anyone who plays for me is that you have to put a shift in. I don't mind a mistake. The key for me is to work hard and we worked as a team - but we have to keep doing that."

Wolves head coach Nuno told ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport:

"We made mistakes we should not do and they changed the game.

"I organise my thoughts and I try to analyse. We try to see what went wrong and get it right for the next game.

"We need the support of the fans at Molineux on Tuesday night (against Reading). There is pain for everyone right now and we need to bounce back."