Ched Evans scored twice as Preston won 4-1 at Blackburn to move into the Sky Bet Championship’s top six.
Ryan Lowe’s side comprehensively outfought and outplayed their Lancashire rivals with a display of ruthlessness at Ewood Park.
Ben Woodburn’s cool 17th-minute finish set the visitors on their way and Evans swept home from close range minutes after the restart to put Preston in control.
Blackburn rallied and got back into the game with a predatory finish from Bradley Dack in the 55th minute but North End clinically put their hosts to the sword with two goals in the space of three second-half minutes through Evans’ powerful header and Ben Whiteman’s deflected 65th-minute drive.
Preston’s fourth win in five matches sees them climb to fourth, a place behind their opponents.
For all the visitors’ brilliance, Blackburn provided Christmas charity with the opening two goals in particular and were completely out of sorts in their second consecutive derby defeat.
The visitors settled quickest and went ahead in the 17th minute when Ryan Ledson cut out a poor Scott Wharton pass and fed Evans, whose perfectly-weighted ball found Woodburn in space on the edge of the box and he calmly lifted the ball into the bottom right corner.
Rovers could not find any rhythm and Dom Hyam had to be alert to block Brad Potts after he was played in on the right.
The break could not come soon enough for Rovers but they inflicted more punishment on themselves two minutes after the restart as Lewis Travis was robbed at the edge of his own area by Woodburn before Daniel Johnson marched into the box and crossed for Evans to calmly slot home from 10 yards.
Blackburn needed a spark and they got it in the 55th minute when Hayden Carter’s deep cross was brilliantly kept in by Ben Brereton Diaz and Dack reacted quickest to slam the ball home from close range.
But Preston continued to press, as Potts saw a 25-yard shot brilliantly tipped over by Thomas Kaminski before Liam Lindsay headed the resulting corner wide.
And they got the goal their positivity deserved when a teasing Greg Cunningham cross was met by a towering Evans header in the 63rd minute that flew beyond goalkeeper Kaminski.
It was four two minutes later as the Lilywhites cut Blackburn open once again when Johnson intelligently fed Whiteman on the edge of the area and his low drive found the bottom corner via a deflection.
The goal ended any doubt about the outcome of the contest and led to a mass exodus of home supporters.
