Jack Grealish has described being punched by a Birmingham City fan before scoring the winner for Aston Villa as the "best day of my life".
The Villans captain was attacked from behind by a pitch-invading Blues supporter just 10 minutes into Sunday's Second City derby.
The fan was quickly escorted away, blowing kisses to the crowd, before being arrested and banned for life from St Andrew's by Birmingham City.
Grealish followed up the assault by scoring the winner, having scored in the reverse fixture earlier this season, and celebrated with the away fans.
"Best day of my life," he told Sky Sports after the game.
"To come here, captain Aston Villa and score the winner is what dreams are made of, especially for me as a Villa fan."
Regarding the incident with the spectator, he added: "I was just unaware at the time, I was walking into position and then just felt a whack around the side of the face.
"Obviously there's rivalry and stuff in football but I don't think there's any place for that really.
"I just tried to get on with my job. To score the winner was unbelievable, after what happened in the first half I think it was set up for it."
