Football news - Jack Grealish punched by pitch invader in shocking derby incident

The incident occurred inside the first 10 minutes at St Andrew's, with a man making a beeline for the Villa captain and striking him on the head from behind.

The intruder was restrained by a marshal as several Villa players rushed in to confront him. He was then led away, blowing kisses to the crowd, and arrested by West Midlands Police.

Grealish, who appeared unhurt, did not react to the provocation.

"There's rivalry and stuff in football but I don't think there's any place for that in football," Grealish told Sky Sport after the match.

Grealish had the last laugh after his second-half goal gave Villa all three points to allow them to leapfrog their Midlands rivals and move up to ninth in the standings, a point ahead of Birmingham.

"I just tried to get on with my job really and I think I did. It's the best day of my life; to come here for the first time as Villa captain and score the winner is what dreams are made of," Grealish added.

Birmingham City apologised to Grealish and Aston Villa and said the supporter would be banned from the stadium.

Gary Neville called for a "huge punishment", with the ex-Manchester United defender suggesting a points deduction or 10-match stadium ban for Birmingham supporters, while Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling labelled him "idiot of the year".

Meanwhile, Gary Lineker led a chorus of people praising Grealish for his reaction.