Manchester United are back in second place after coming to life in a game that saw them fall behind early at Aston Villa.Wayne Rooney improved his Premiership record to six goals in the last five games—and was a missed penalty away from notching a hat-trick.
This wasn't the same United that had been grinding out 1-0 wins early in the season. Instead, Alex Ferguson's team played free-flowing football—even with Cristiano Ronaldo resting for all but the final 15 minutes of the match.
Rooney rebounded nicely from his failure with the National Team in Moscow, while Carlos Tevez was equally useful on the pitch.
Aston Villa was full of confidence after beating Chelsea at home earlier this season—and took the lead after 16 minutes when Gabriel Agbonlahor caught the United defense with its guard down.
United struggled early against the speed and pace of Villa’s front line, but gradually took control of the game after Rooney’s equalizer.
“We had a disappointing start but after that we started playing well, passing it well and played some great football before halftime,” Rooney said.
Rooney's England colleague Rio Ferdinand was keen to claim United's third goal, which was helped into the net by Villa's Craig Gardner.
“Of course, when you hit it as cleanly as I did you deserve to be credited with the goal,” Ferdinand joked after the match.
Asked about Rooney's display, Ferdinand said, “He played very well, his movement with Carlos was very good and the signs are good for the future.”
Ferguson was delighted with his side's victory and attacking flair.
“The performance was absolutely superb, probably our best of the season,” the manager said.
United travel to Dynamo Kiev in Champions League play on Tuesday.
"It's a big game obviously," Ferguson said of the match. "European football is a special occasion and we're going in there in good form, but it's not an easy place to go to."
Villa manager Martin O'Neill questioned the dismissal of Nigel Reo-Coker, but was positive in assessing his club.
“We conceded some poor goals but were always in the game,” O'Neill said. “I'm obviously disappointed because we were very bright to begin with but we'll pick ourselves up.”
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11 months ago
Hey!!! We wrote on the same topic...
However, an electrifying performance from United...and i am looking forward to a lot of those this season
Go United!
11 months ago
Fantastic match!
11 months ago
yeah, extremely impressive performance from man utd
tevez looks like he's almost fully settled in :)
11 months ago
villa scores first, leaving the utd defence wide apart
rooneys 1st goal was a defensive error, an easy tap in
his second was good i admit as it required at least some skill
then an own goal
then a missed penaly
and then another own goal
how is that good again?
from 11 months ago
The header was a glancing one and it nearly brushed the roof of the net...how can the United defence was wide open? Rooney's precise timing of lurking behind the defenders is not sth so common for most of the players in EPL..even if they do they fail to convert it. Do you think Villa did us a favor by scoring that own goal?? ok ..Rooney shouldn't have taken the penalty coz he's horrible there..The Giggs goal was not given as an own goal...Didn't you follow the way he sidestepped the Villa defenders?
We also missed a host of opportunities, Nani and Rooney rattled the post and lots more happened. Just don't cite a lame excuse to prove our 'good' performance.It was outrageous, even better than the mighty Gooners
11 months ago
Sir Alex Ferguson on strike duo Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez:
"They are only young players. In three or four years it might be something special."
"They have speed and courage, and can beat a man. Maturity is what we want to see now, and also authority and timing."
"Once that comes they will show everyone what great players they are."
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