Manchester United Sunk at Old Trafford by the 'Gabulous' Aston Villa

For Manchester United, the villain broke hearts at Old Trafford in the 21st minute.

For Aston Villa, the Villan stole the show just 21 minutes into the match.

Aston Villa and England striker Gabriel Agbonlahor laid down Aston Villa's top four claim with a superb finish from an Ashley Young cross to seal a deserved 1-0 victory away from home.

Statistically it was a long time coming, considering Villa had never beaten Manchester United away in all the years of the Premier League's existence.

With title rivals Chelsea seemingly dropping two points after an entertaining 3-3 draw with Everton, Manchester United were in a very strong position to thrust themselves right back in the hunt for the Premier League title.

However, sloppy defending (despite their recent well-documented defensive crisis) and a lack of concentration, as well as a lack of urgency, meant United were undone by Aston Villa.

So overall, it was not two points dropped for Chelsea, but actually one point gained, with three very valuable points lost for Manchester United.

As for Aston Villa, it was a colossal result at Old Trafford, beating the current Premier League champions.

It was also a thoroughly deserved result, as Martin O'Neill and his troops battled through and fought for their lives following the late attacking onslaught United would inevitably impose having been a goal down.

Although, it was more than just desperate defending.

When going forward, Villa were slick with their passing, and attacked with great efficiency at times, having achieved a shot rate of 50 percent on target, compared to United's 36 percent.

Aston Villa were an all-round strong and reliable unit, and it is such performances that will see them claim that fourth, very lucrative, Champions League position.

Not a match goes by were the name of Aston Villa and the UEFA Champions League are not put in the same sentence; a glowing testament to a club who have grown in stature and really developed both on and off the field into an elite European side.

It's a link that will continue to develop with performances like the one on Saturday evening at Old Trafford, and could soon become a reality if Villa can keep their vital Villans free from injury.

And with Liverpool having succumbed to yet another Anfield defeat, this time 1-2 against Arsenal, it's a reality for Aston Villa that's looking ever more real by the minute.