Red Devils stroll past Villa

Phil Jones scored the only goal of the game as Manchester United stayed within touching distance of Man City with a win at Aston Villa.

United brush aside Villa to keep pace with City

Phil Jones scored the only goal of the game as Manchester United stayed within touching distance of Man City with a win at Aston Villa. The Red Devils suffered a blow early on as striker Javier Hernandez was stretchered off with an ankle injury after collapsing in Villa's penalty area. The visitors' early dominance brought a goal when Jones, operating in midfield, side-footed home Nani's left-wing cross for a deserved lead. The injury-jinx hit Villa before half-time when goalkeeper Shay Given had to be replaced after tweaking his hamstring having raced out of his goal to clear. Jermaine Jenas also hobbled off in the second half. United substitute Danny Welbeck had the ball in the back of the net late on but it was correctly chalked off as the offside flag was up, but it mattered little as the visitors held on.

Boos

United winger Ashley Young was greeted with boos from some sections of the home fans on his first return following his transfer in the summer. The visitors suffered an early setback when Hernandez appeared to twist his ankle when it became caught in the Villa Park surface after turning sharply. There was a lengthy delay while Hernandez received treatment but he was unable to continue and was stretchered off and replaced by Antonio Valencia. Still, it came as no surprise when Jones put United ahead with a clinical finish after 20 minutes. Patrice Evra released the overlapping Nani and his cross was met by Jones who volleyed past Given from close range. Villa could not get a foothold in the game and it needed a fine save from the Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper to prevent United doubling their lead. Young provided the probing cross from the right of the area and Nani's powerful header was turned aside by the Republic of Ireland keeper. There was a brief moment of danger from Villa when Barry Bannan ran on to a reverse ball from Gabriel Agbonlahor inside the United box but he over-ran the ball. But United were the dominant force and Valencia curled a 25-yard effort just wide after no-one had closed him down. Given had to be replaced by Brad Guzan after 38 minutes after tweaking his hamstring when racing out of his area to clear.

Domination

The second period began in the same vein as the opening 45 minutes, with United dominating proceedings. Wayne Rooney tried his luck from 25 yards out and his shot skidded just past the post. Then Bannan made a crucial block on Nani's shot from near the penalty area while Anders Lindegaard clung onto a teasing cross-shot from Agbonlahor in a rare Villa attack. Jenas became the third player to be substituted after 64 minutes with a serious-looking ankle injury and he also had to be stretchered off. Villa replacement Emile Heskey almost made an instant impact as he headed wide at the far post after Richard Dunne had flicked on a corner from Bannan. Young dragged a low 20-yard effort only a couple of feet wide after brushing off the challenge of Bannan. But Villa were at last showing some menace with Lindegaard turning over a Collins header from a Dunne centre. Young curled a sot straight at Guzan after good play by Ryan Giggs but could not score against his former team-mates before being substituted after 78 minutes. Rooney had a quiet evening but was just too high with a snap shot after exchanging passes with Carrick, while substitute Danny Welbeck had the ball in the net in the 90th minute but had strayed offside.

Aston Villa	Team Statistics	Manchester United
0	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	1
2	Shots on Target	4
4	Shots off Target	6
2	Blocked Shots	4
5	Corners	5
4	Fouls	12
2	Offsides	3
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
66.8	Passing Success	80.1
16	Tackles	8
75	Tackles Success	75
43.8	Possession	56.2
44.4	Territorial Advantage	55.6
355	Total Passes	473
23	Total Crosses	22
181	Lost Balls	183
51	Recoveries	55
39.2	1st Half Poss.	60.8
48.1	2nd Half Poss.	51.9