Aston Villa Vs. Manchester United Result Report

On a day when Arsenal showed a flicker of hope remains in their title bid, United delivered an emphatic message to the Gunners and fellow championship hopefuls Chelsea.

With goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and, most pleasingly, two for Wayne Rooney, United beat Aston Villa comprehensively and conclusively. It ended 4-0, but that figure could have been significantly higher. This was, quite simply, one of the Reds’s best performances of the season. With six games to go, this display was a resounding statement of intent.


There was nothing lacking. Goals, skill, determination, sumptuous football. Villa couldn’t live with United. The visitors arrived at Old Trafford without a win in 25 years (they won 2-1 in November 1983) in the red half of Manchester, and seeking to end a run of 13 straight defeats at the hands of Sir Alex’s men.

Villa boss Martin O’Neill signalled his intentions to end a run of results that has seen his side pick up just two points from their last four games; he paired power with more power in the form of John Carew and Marlon Harewood up front, and rapid runners Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor on either flank. With Arsenal earlier in the day coming back from 2-0 down to beat Bolton 3-2, the Reds will have been well aware of the significance of maintaining that record.

There could be no time to bask in the afterglow of last Sunday’s 3-0 win over Liverpool – not least because it was extinguished by the heavy rain before kick-off. The weather brought a zip to the surface, and a speed to both team’s play.

It was Villa that threatened first when Wes Brown deflected Ashley Young’s goal-bound volley after four minutes. It led to a couple of corners for the visitors, an early warning of one of Villa’s best attacking options.

Rooney led United’s early attacking forays, his cross after five minutes causing Nigel Reo-Coker to head behind for a corner, from which his stunning volley was only prevented from bursting the net by Martin Laursen’s brave defending. Cristiano Ronaldo was next to threaten with a volley that had Scott Carson at full stretch. From the resulting corner Brown – clearly with a taste for glory after his goal against Liverpool last weekend – saw his header go narrowly over the bar.

On 17 minutes the breakthrough arrived. Who else? Ronaldo. And this has to go down as one of the cheekiest of his 35 goals this season. After Barry and Bouma both had chances to clear the ball, it fell to Ronaldo. With his back to goal, rather than take the time to turn and shoot, he backheeled the ball through Laursen’s legs and past Carson.

What is most pleasing about Ronaldo is that, considering the frequency with which he finds the net, his joy at scoring never appears diminished. He celebrates every goal as if it were a rarity. The Portuguese winger didn’t let some heavy tackles stopping playing, and provided the cross for United’s second goal on 33 minutes. It was Tevez – a bundle of energy chasing every cause – who started the move, which involved Rooney, Scholes, a delightful curled Ronaldo cross and, finally, Tevez’s diving header at the back post. Great goal. Glorious football. Villa’s defenders could only stand and admire.

At the start of the second half it was a case of keeping up the momentum and the enthralling football of the first 45 minutes. United immediately had the chance to score a third. After a neat one-two with Tevez, Rooney was one-on-one with Carson. With everyone in the ground willing the ball in, it agonisingly bobbled past the wrong side of the post. Without a goal in six games, it must have felt like a goal was never going to come.

Pouncing on a rare defensive mix-up, Shaun Maloney found himself clean through. But the winger, a first-half substitute for the injured Carew, also hit his shot wide. As the following minutes proved, Villa’s big chance to get back into the game had gone begging.

At the other end, Ronaldo latched onto Scholes’ cross but his volley deflected off Laursen and the crossbar. Then came the moment just about every United fan wanted: Rooney's first goal at home since October. Ronaldo backheeled the ball into Rooney’s path. The Reds forward rounded Carson, with Old Trafford holding its breath, then as Rooney tapped the ball home, the roof was nearly lifted off.

Villa, to their credit, kept going. Kuszczak was forced into a great save from Maloney’s curling effort, tipping the ball onto the crossbar. The woodwork was taking a hammering as Rooney went close to his second after 65 minutes, his shot from 18 yards clipping the outside of the post.

The striker did grab his brace five minutes later as Ronaldo’s nutmeg found Rooney to his left inside the box. With his wait over, there was no nervousness, only a calm and assured finish inside Carson’s near post. Rooney was denied a hat-trick after turning home substitute Owen Hargreaves’ cross. However, the linesman had correctly ruled he was fractionally offside. No matter, there was enough to savour in his two goals, an exemplary team performance and one step closer to retaining the title.

Team Line-ups

Manchester United: Kuszczak; Brown, Ferdinand (Hargreaves 61), Vidic, Evra (O’Shea 61); Ronaldo, Carrick (Anderson 61), Scholes, Giggs; Tevez, Rooney.
Subs not used: Foster, Park.
Booked: Vidic

Aston Villa: Carson; Bouma (Osbourne 80), Mellberg, Laursen; Agbonlahor, Reo-Coker, Barry, Petrov, Young; Carew (Maloney 42), Harewood (Salifou 69).
Subs not used: Taylor, Knight.
Booked: Bouma

Attendance: 75,932