Chris Coleman's Sunderland rescue mission began with defeat as the Black Cats went down 2-1 at Aston Villa.
Albert Adomah and Joshua Onomah struck for Villa to condemn Coleman to defeat after he quit the Wales job to try to save Sunderland.
Lewis Grabban's 10th goal of the season was only a consolation for the Black Cats and defeat kept them rooted to the bottom of the Championship, four points from the safety line.
They have won just once this season and have lost half of their games with successive relegations a real possibility.
In contrast, in-form Villa moved up to fourth and are now just five points adrift of the top two after back-to-back wins.