Manchester United 3 Aston Villa 1:MANCHESTER UNITED chose not to splash out in the transfer window but perhaps they always knew Wayne Rooney would return to give them a mid-season boost. The striker looked a completely new player against Aston Villa, showing his sharpness in the first minute and going on to treble his number of goals from open play for the season.
With Antonio Valencia also on his way back and Park Ji-sung due to return from the Asian Games, Alex Ferguson could be right in thinking United do not particularly need anyone at this stage – not at current prices anyway, though Darren Bent again demonstrated his reliability in front of goal with a typical strike to bring Villa back to 2-1 in the second half.
Brad Friedel, three months short of his 40th birthday, officially became Villa’s oldest ever player in this game, and he must have felt it when Wayne Rooney belted the ball past him to open the scoring after a mere 48 seconds. An even older player began the move, Edwin van der Sar launching the ultimate route one strike by spotting how high a defensive line Villa were attempting to maintain and taking a quick free-kick from just outside his own area straight up the middle to the edge of the opposite one.
Given something to chase Rooney lost no time in getting goalside of the labouring Richard Dunne, took one steadying touch then lashed a shot beyond Friedel before the goalkeeper had got far enough from his line to cut down his options. It was only his second goal of the season from open play, his first at Old Trafford for almost a year.
Nani was United’s liveliest attacker for the rest of the first half, unlucky not to get a penalty when he was unceremoniously barged over by Dunne in the area and close to claiming a second goal when Friedel just managed to get fingertips to a stinging drive following a mistake in defence by Dunne, who was not having the best of nights.
The returning Rio Ferdinand, by contrast, barely put a foot wrong and, protected by the first-choice centre back partnership, Van der Sar had little to do. Jean Makoun played with more confidence and authority than he had shown on his debut at Wigan last week but, though Stewart Downing and Marc Albrighton tried swapping wings, most of Villa’s passing also crossed the pitch harmlessly without making much forward impact.
By the midway stage Friedel had had to make important saves from Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra and Dimitar Berbatov, and the last put a decent opportunity to extend his side’s lead over the bar when a deep cross from Nani found his head at the far post. Just when it looked as though United might have to be content with a single goal to show for their first-half superiority Nani produced an even better cross from the right in first-half stoppage time, an invitation that even an off-form Rooney would probably have accepted.
Rooney no longer looks quite so off-form, however. He took up exactly the right position to profit from the cross and after Nani had comprehensively beaten Ciaran Clark by the touchline and sent a curling ball towards the far post, the England striker dispatched it with something like his old elan.
However, Villa responded superbly just before the hour, even if United did give them a helping hand by losing possession. Downing seized on the loose ball and galloped away down the right, before looking up and sending over the sort of low, early cross that Bent thrives on.
United restored their two-goal advantage and again Rooney was involved, playing the ball easily back in a tight situation so that Nemanja Vidic could thump a shot past an unsighted Friedel.
Ashley Young rattled Van der Sar’s bar in the second half and Dunne headed narrowly over as Villa refused to give up. Dunne was also responsible for denying Rooney his hat-trick when the striker ran on to a through-ball 13 minutes from time.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Van der Sar, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Fletcher (Anderson 34), Carrick, Giggs, Berbatov, Rooney. Subs not used: Lindegaard, Owen, Smalling, Hernandez, Scholes, Fabio Da Silva.
ASTON VILLA: Friedel, Walker, Collins, Dunne, Clark, Albrighton (Heskey 69), Makoun, Petrov (Agbonlahor 74), Downing (Reo-Coker 80), Ashley Young, Bent. Subs not used: Marshall, Pires, Delfouneso, Cuellar.
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside).
