Danny Welbeck delivers some festive cheer for United

Manchester United victories at Villa Park have become so routine that they are almost taken for granted but after a miserable run of results recently this was a triumph for David Moyes and the travelling supporters to cherish.

Danny Welbeck scored twice – his first goals in the league for United since the opening day of the season – and Tom Cleverley registered his first of the campaign to help the champions cruise to a restorative win against obliging opponents.

It was United’s first Premier League victory in five matches and lifts them to eighth place, which is a long way from where they want to be but a step in the right direction. United were so dominant – only profligacy prevented them from racking up more goals – that it seemed strange to think that they had come into the game short of confidence and with statisticians searching for the last time they had lost three successive league matches.

By the end of the match United were stroking the ball around with a swagger and their fans were going through their full repertoire of Christmas songs.

Moyes knows better than to think that one win means everything is rosy at Old Trafford again. He talked about United delivering a performance against Villa that was “closer” to what he expects but he also stressed the importance of finding some consistency.

With that in mind the United manager politely declined the opportunity to get ahead of himself and view a benign run of league fixtures between now and the end of the year – West Ham United at home followed by Hull and Norwich away – as a chance to get back into the mix.

Encouraging day
This, though, was certainly an encouraging day for Moyes. Welbeck, for whom goals have not always flowed easily in a United shirt, showed a predatory touch to strike twice in three first-half minutes, Antonio Valencia wreaked havoc on the right flank and was the best player on the pitch while Darren Fletcher, who has faced a battle to save his career since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2011, came on to make his first appearance since St Stephen's Day.

For Villa the smattering of boos at the final whistle were predictable. They have a dreadful record against United – it is 18 years since they last beat them at Villa Park in the league – but, with the visitors struggling of late and without several key players, the home fans could have been forgiven for sensing that this fixture represented a reasonable chance to bring that run to an end.

Instead Villa rolled over from the moment Welbeck put United ahead in the 15th minute.

They contributed to their own downfall with defensive mistakes, as Paul Lambert, Villa’s manager, ruefully acknowledged, and looked toothless up front, where the lack of goals and Christian Benteke’s loss of form are a genuine concern.

Villa have failed to score in seven of their last 10 league games. As for Benteke, he has not scored in more than 11 hours of football across three months.

Welbeck's goal drought came to an end when Rafael da Silva wriggled clear on the right and managed to dig out a deep cross that the unmarked Adnan Januzaj, whom Moyes felt came in for some rough treatment, headed against the far post. The ball rebounded kindly for Welbeck to volley home from six yards. "We are staying up" chanted the United supporters.

Gave away possession
Within three minutes Nathan Baker carelessly gave away possession inside his own half and United had a second goal. Cleverley transferred the ball to Welbeck and within the blink of an eye Antonio Valencia was tearing down the United right. He picked out the run of Welbeck with a low cutback and the striker did the rest, sliding the ball into the corner of the net.

The inevitable third United goal arrived six minutes into the second half. Antonio Luna’s day went from bad to worse when he handed possession to Cleverley midway inside the Villa half.

The England midfielder exchanged passes with Rooney before bursting into the penalty area and beating Brad Guzan at his near post.

Marc Albrighton, Villa's best player by a distance, tested David de Gea at his near post moments later but that was a rare moment of excitement for the home fans.
Guardian Service