Christian Benteke scored a hat-trick to earn a 3-3 draw for Aston Villa in a topsy-turvy relegation battle against Queens Park Rangers this evening.

Matty Phillips opened the scoring with a stooping header in the seventh minute, but Benteke quickly responded and then doubled his tally for the night before half time to give his side the lead.

Clint Hill and Charlie Austin registered to restore the visitors' advantage, but Benteke clinched the match ball and a point for his side by curling home a free kick seven minutes from time.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out during an electric 90 minutes at Villa Park.

ASTON VILLA

Goal

Brad Guzan: May be slightly disappointed with QPR's third goal, but it would have been a fine save to deny Austin. Nothing he could have done about the opening two headers. (6/10)

Defence

Leandro Bacuna: At fault for the opening goal having failed to adequately clear the danger, but made up for that with a fine attacking performance in the first half. His delivery from the right was consistently good and he gave Hill a torrid time in the opening 45 minutes. Faded after the break before being taken off, though. (7/10)

Ron Vlaar: Back in the side and, despite conceding three goals, looked pretty solid throughout. Dealt with Austin and particularly Zamora well. (6/10)

Ciaran Clark: Lost Austin for QPR's third goal, but otherwise put in a strong performance at the heart of the defence. Will be upset to have conceded three goals in a match when he usually had the QPR attackers under control. (6/10)

Kieran Richardson: Did not get as much joy going forward as Bacuna on the opposite flank but stuck to his defensive duties diligently for the most part. He came up against a Phillips in good form, however, and failed to prevent his man from getting a goal and two assists. (5/10)

Midfield

Tom Cleverley: Supplied a good level of energy and intensity to proceedings in the centre of the park. Unable to have a decisive say on the game, but played an important role nonetheless. (6/10)

Carlos Sanchez: Always willing to collect the ball in difficult situations and helped to break up a number of QPR attacks. (6/10)

Fabian Delph: Kept the captain's armband despite Vlaar's return and led by example in midfield. Helped his side to dominate in the first half and showed the sort of hunger and desire needed at this stage of the season. (7/10)

Jack Grealish: Making his full Premier League debut, and on this basis his second start won't be far away. Was a bundle of energy in the first half and seemed to be involved in everything good that Villa did. (7/10)

Attack

Christian Benteke: Back to his unplayable best at times in the first half especially. Threatened every time he got on the ball and, despite fading a little in the second half, was fully deserving of a fantastic hat-trick. That is now seven goals in his last five games for Villa. (9/10)

Gabriel Agbonlahor: Outshone by his strike partner but certainly played his part tonight. Sent Benteke through for his second goal and linked up well with the Belgian all game. Almost got his own name on the scoresheet when he sent a looping header narrowly wide in the first half. (7/10)

Substitutes

Joe Cole: Replaced the impressive but tiring Grealish and enjoyed a lively 20-minute cameo. (6/10)

Matthew Lowton: Came on for Bacuna with 15 minutes remaining and sent in a few testing low deliveries in addition to staying strong at the other end of the pitch. (6/10)

Charles N'Zogbia: Had less than 10 minutes and was unable to make much of an impact, aside from winning the free kick that led to the equaliser. (6/10)

QPR

Goal

Rob Green: Left helpless for all three of Benteke's goals, but did thwart Grealish with a fine save in the first half and made one or two other important stops. (6/10)

Defence

Mauricio Isla: Poor defending in the build-up to the first goal as he let Benteke cut inside onto his stronger foot far too easily. The Belgian striker dominated Isla's right channel in the first half. (5/10)

Steven Caulker: Had his hands full with Benteke throughout the first half and simply couldn't deal with him at times. Improved after the break when QPR changed formation, though. (6/10)

Nedum Onuoha: Like Caulker, struggled badly in the first half as Villa dominated but was better after the switcharound from Ramsey. (6/10)

Clint Hill: A mixed bag. Gave Bacuna far too much room on numerous occasions in the first half, allowing the Villa man to exert his influence on the game. Also benefited from the change to three at the back and notched his first ever Premier League goal as well. (6/10)

Midfield

Matty Phillips: Only denied the man of the match award by Benteke's hat-trick heroics. Worked his socks off down the right and continued his fine form since the turn of the year with a goal and two assists - no Premier League player has set up more goals than him in 2015. (8/10)

Sandro: Overrun for much of the first half and struggled to keep tabs on Grealish. Made one fine block to deny Vlaar, though, and also improved after the break. (6/10)

Joey Barton: Like Sandro, was chasing shadows for much of the opening 45 minutes but enjoyed a better time of things when Ramsey switched the system to give his side an extra man in midfield. (6/10)

Niko Kranjcar: One of the players to be sacrificed for the tactical change early in the second half following an ineffective showing on his return to the starting lineup. (5/10)

Attack

Charlie Austin: Did not get many chances to shine, but made sure he took the opportunity when it arose. Got his side's third goal with a sharp finish having also been involved in the opener. (7/10)

Bobby Zamora: Kept relatively quiet for the majority of the match but did get a good assist for the opener, clipping the ball in for Phillips to nod home. (6/10)

Substitutes

Karl Henry: Helped to turn the game in QPR's favour as Ramsey changed the formation. Nothing spectacular, but he was more effective than Kranjcar, whom he replaced. (6/10)

Armand Traore: Introduced at the same time as Henry as Ramsey brought another body into midfield. Helped QPR to wrestle control off Villa at times. (6/10)

Michael Doughty: A quiet 20-minute cameo after replacing Sandro in the centre of midfield. (6/10)