Aston Villa 1-4 Manchester United

If the second half of the Wigan match was encouraging this was very exciting. Even if we had only won 2-1 this was the first time we had looked like the same team that had us all looking forward to every game last season. And with Ronaldo rested on the bench, it was all the more impressive. The passing and movement in the first half was almost on a par with the first half demolition of Bolton at the Reebok last season. Nani really looked like a Manchester United player for the first time yesterday, to me anyway. Anderson impressed again, although more sporadically than against Wigan. Pique looked the part once more against an attack that had far more to offer than Wigan did in his first game this season. And to cap it all it looks like i will have to eat humble pie and confess that i was wrong, it looks like Rooney and Tevez will be able to play together, although i still think there will be games where we will need Saha or someone like him. Right from the off, United seemed to have stepped up a level from what we have seen so far this season.
It has to be said when i saw the team sheet i was a bit worried about the lack of a more defensive minded player in midfield, especially as Villa seemed to have improved this season, going forward anyway. And even though we started well we did look a bit shaky at the back when they attacked, so i wasn't too amazed when we went a goal down. I don't know who went missing on the right hand side for the original cross, but the defence never really recovered from it and the return cross from Young was a beauty and it was an easy task for Agbonlahor to glance it past Van Der Sar. I thought we were going to be in for a game now, this was going to be a big test, even more so with all the new faces.
I am glad to say that they rose to it majestically, they just carried on with the impressive passing and movement that they had started the game with. If there was a huge slice of luck for the first goal, and there was, then it was totally deserved. Again there was a nice interchange between Rooney and Tevez in the build up, and eventually the ball ended up at the feet of Nani, who wasted no time in just passing the ball across the six yard box. Although it should have been dealt with, it had been placed so nicely it put such an element of doubt in Zac Knight's mind that he left it, and with Gardener totally unaware that Rooney was ghosting in behind him, it left Rooney with the simple task of side footing the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-1.
If the first goal had seen United face one of their bigger tests of the season, the equaliser now presented one for the brummie outfit, with us playing great football and ten minutes for them to try to get to half time on level terms. Unlike United though they were no where near up to it, with a combination of irresistible United attacking and keystone cop Villa defending, United added two more to make it 3-1 at half time. The second again scored by Rooney followed more sublime passing and movement from the front two with a little bit of help from Knight who didn't cover himself in glory again. The third just before half time, really was keystone cops time, a really powerful header from Pique was saved on the line and fell to Ferdinand who managed to hit it goalwards although not in the strongest of fashion, but with about three Villa players on the line, it fell to Gardener who could only manage to smash the ball onto the bar and back into his own goal.
With a 3-1 scoreline you can't automatically say game over especially away from home, but the way United came out and went straight for the jugular in the first five minutes of the second half, it didn't seem like there was much chance of United faltering. And when Reo Coker had a bit of a mad five minutes, earning himself two yellow cards and seeing villa going down to ten men, it was now a question of how many United would score. Then to add insult to injury for Villa Carson brought Tevez down as he was taking the ball round him to earn a straight red card and give away a penalty. I am afraid when i saw Rooney puff his cheeks out as he was about to take it, my confidence in him putting it away lowered a fair bit and i wasn't surprised to see him not put it away. It wasn't the worst penalty you will ever see, and it was cracking save from the goalie seeing as though it was the first thing he had to do in the match. With the game virtually over and Rooney on a hatrick, it was fair enough that he should take it, but he has never really looked like a natural penalty taker. To add to the penalty miss Rooney then saw a superb effort hit the bar, following Wes Browns only decent cross of the match. It's a bit unfair to pick on Brown, but his distribution isn't his strong point, and if we hadn't have got Kiev away on tuesday, i would have like to have seen Simpson come on for the last twenty minutes or so. But there are older legs to protect, so it was good opportunity for scholes and giggs to come off. I don't really think you can credit Giggs with the fourth, i might have crdited him with it after the first deflection, but the glance of the head that eventually took it past the goalie rules out the goal being credited to him i would have thought. then again you never know maybe they will credit him with it, if Carragher can get away with that challenge on Lescott in the last minute, you never know with the inept officialdom of this country.
It will be very interesting to see Tuesdays line up, i don't think you can really play in places like Kiev without a defensive midfield player. Though with no Hargreaves or Carrick to choose from, who will play there, if Vidic is fit i would play Pique in the holding role before O'shea, but i am presuming that it will be O'shea that is chosen. I would love to see us perform like we did on Saturday in Europe away from home this season at some stage of the season, but i can't see it happening on Tuesday.