A hat-trick inside 35 minutes from Christian Benteke helped Aston Villa to a 5-1 win over Crewe Alexandra in a pre-season friendly.

The Premier League side got off to a quick start as Andreas Weimann caught out Steve Phillips in the hosts' goal with a strike from 25 yards out that found the top corner of the net.

Benteke doubled the Villans' advantage in the 11th minute, tapping in a Weimann cross.

Karim El Ahmadi set up the Belgian's second, feeding the ball through just before the half-hour mark for the striker to power it in.

Benteke completed his hat-trick six minutes later, slotting a low effort into the Crewe goal and leaving Phillips rooted to the spot in the process.

The League One side were able to reduce the deficit before half time as Harry Davis smashed the ball in from close range.

After a quiet start to the second half, Paul Lambert made 10 changes to his team, leaving just Leandro Bacuna in place from the starting lineup.

Bacuna's extended stay on the pitch paid off seven minutes from full time when he picked the ball up on the edge of the penalty area, took it past two defenders and drove it into the top corner.

The result gives Villa their first pre-season victory.