Man United 3 Aston Villa 1
Manchester United 3 Aston Villa 1, Old Trafford, English Premier League, April 4, 2015. Manchester United moved into third place in the table following the 3-1 win against relegation candidates Aston Villa. United´s goals came through a double by Ander Herrera and a single from Wayne Rooney, while Christian Benteke registered a consolation for Villa.
Manchester United had edged out North West enemies Liverpool by 2-1 at Anfield in their previous Premier League fixture thanks to a double from Spain international midfield playmaker Juan Mata, while Aston Villa had succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Swansea City at Villa Park in their last Premiership match. Louis van Gaal´s men went in front against The Villains when Ander Herrera fired a low twelve-yard shot past away goalkeeper Brad Guzan and into the far bottom corner of the net two minutes ahead of the half-time break. In the second period, Wayne Rooney doubled the advantage for Manchester United with a ferocious effort from inside the penalty area which flew past Guzan and into the top corner of the goal on 79 minutes before Christian Benteke managed to reduce the deficit for Villa only one minute afterwards. But as the game approached its end, the home team had their third goal of the clash as Herrera found the back of the net in second half stoppage time. After comfortably defeating Tim Sherwood´s struggling Aston Villa side by 3-1 at their Old Trafford fortress, Manchester United moved one place above crosstown adversaries Manchester City in the Premier League standings. The Reds now found themselves sitting in third spot with 62 points won from 31 matches played, one point behind second positioned Arsenal, and eight points adrift of top-flight leaders Chelsea. Louis van Gaal: “I am looking higher up than getting into the Champions League, but we will have to win every week to do this.” Manchester United Team: David de Gea, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind, Antonio Valencia, Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata, Michael Carrick, Wayne Young, Ander Herrera, Ashley Young. Substitutes: Rafael da Silva, Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao, Adnan Januzaj, Andreas Pereira, Paddy McNair, Victor Valdes. Aston Villa Team: Brad Guzan, Alan Hutton, Jores Okore, Ciaran Clark, Fabian Delph, Matthew Lowton, Charles N’Zogbia, Carlos Sanchez, Andi Weimann, Gabby Agbonlahor, Christian Benteke. Substitutes: Shay Given, Nathan Baker, Ron Vlaar, Leandro Bacuna, Carles Gil, Joe Cole, Jack Grealish.
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