Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty ImagesChristian Benteke's offensive display on Saturday versus Liverpool included a pair of goals and a dazzling assist.

Christian Benteke's command of the English language isn't sufficiently strong enough for him to feel confident of talking about himself. Fortunately, his performances are beginning to do the talking for him. And following his latest, and certainly most eye-catching, display of the season in Villa's win at Liverpool, others are taking notice and coming forward with praise.

- Jolly: Villa's young ones run wild at Anfield

"That was probably the most complete performance I've seen from a centre-forward in the Premier League this season," commented pundit Alan Shearer, the league's all-time record goal-scorer. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, on the receiving end of Benteke on Saturday, admitted, "Benteke was outstanding."

The performance was less surprising for Villa coach Paul Lambert, who said a couple of weeks ago, "He's been excellent for us. If he keeps progressing the way he has so far, he'll be an incredible player."

Benteke's two goals and assist for strike partner Andreas Weimann was further vindication -- if any more were needed -- of not only Lambert's decision to sign the Belgian in the summer, but also for building his attack around him rather than the more established Darren Bent.

I can recall certain members of the football punditry family who scoffed at the seven seven million pounds Villa paid Genk for Benteke at the end of August. Not cheap, certainly, and all the more significant set against the club's other transfer business -- a series of reasonably modest investments. How many minutes of action had those pundits actually seen Benteke play? I'd wager zero, across the board. On the other hand, Lambert would have done his homework on the Congo-born forward several times over.

Benteke's abilities would have been obvious -- pace, power, channelled aggression -- but Lambert was also primarily investing in raw potential, and doing so before other, perhaps bigger, clubs woke up to the big man.

Benteke was hardly top secret, not after 19 goals in 37 games during his first (and only, as it transpired) season with Genk, and pushing his way into Belgium's senior squad. Had Lambert waited another season, just to be sure and to see how the player developed further, Benteke may have been well out of Villa's reach. Instead, he went for it. It may well prove to be an inspired judgment call.

After half a season of Premier League football, Benteke is beginning to look a seven million pound bargain. The rough edges, while still there, are gradually being smoothed out, and over the last month, his performances have gone up a level. As Villa's young team have started to collectively find their feet, so has Benteke.

He's scored four goals in his last five games in all competitions and three in his last four Premier League games. His goal record for the season so far, in league and cup, is eight. Just as crucially, he is also credited with six assists.

The superlatives afforded to Benteke after his performance at Anfield were deserved. Against Liverpool, he was unstoppable -- the home side's centre-backs, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel, were bullied and outclassed. And Shearer was spot-on. Benteke gave a masterclass in centre-forward play. He ticked just about every box.

Benteke's first goal was an opportunistic strike from outside the box; accurate and sharp, tucked inside the post from 20 yards. The mark of a player with growing self-belief.

His part in Villa's second was truly exciting. Squaring the ball to Weimann, he then raced into the Liverpool penalty area to receive the Austrian's side-footed forward pass before executing a wonderful back-heeled return back into the path of his colleague. Weimann finished, first time.

It was a beautiful piece of skill from Benteke, who appeared to be heading for the touchline until he wrong-footed the Liverpool defence with his flick. It was a sit-up-and-take-notice moment.

Villa's third, and Benteke's second, showed his bulldozing strength, running at Liverpool, heading straight into the area and slamming in from ten yards. Reds defenders got close, but couldn't nudge Benteke off the ball -- the striker is six foot, 4 inches tall, and knows how to use his frame to good effect.

It was, all things considered, a devastating display from a player who turned 22 on December 3rd. And a word, too, for Weimann, who is starting to demonstrate exactly why Lambert has decided Bent is no longer an automatic starter at this football club.

In many ways, it is he, not Benteke, who has pushed Bent out of the team. The 21-year-old is a natural finisher who also offers decent pace and works tremendously hard. That work ethic enabled Lambert to use him wide on the right of an attacking three earlier in the season, but since switching to 3-5-2 and using two strikers, Weimann -- who started in place of the injured Gabby Agbonlahor at Anfield and came on for Bent when he was forced off against Norwich in the League Cup -- has profited from being able to get into more dangerous areas.

There is a hint of Everton's Nikica Jelavic about Weimann, in that he's skilled at scoring with a first touch. His emergence has been lower profile than Benteke's, but both players have enjoyed a successful week, with six goals (three each) between them as Villa scored a combined for seven goals in wins at Norwich and Liverpool.

As Villa look to end a difficult year strongly, it's the steep improvement shown by the likes of Benteke and Weimann which will give supporters hope for better times ahead.

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