Aston Villa 0-3 Manchester United - Five talking points

United finally get off to a bright start in the League

Up until this game, Manchester United hadn’t scored a goal in the opening 20 minutes of a League game this season. In the opening few minutes, Villa started brightly, and Albrighton got a few shots away on goal and it looked like that wasn’t going to change. But that was until Welbeck scored the opening and broke the deadlock with an instinctive finish after Januzaj hit the post from Rafael’s cross. And just a couple of minutes later, Welbeck got the second with yet another striker’s finish as he poked the ball home from close range.

After scoring the second goal, United were well and truly in control of the game and were ripping Villa’s defense apart. They started to enjoy the attack down their right flank an awful lot and like a knife through butter, they were cutting open Villa’s defense as if it wasn’t even there. Luna in particular was almost waiting for the half-time whistle as he was being outnumbered, out-muscled and thoroughly outplayed by Valencia and Rafael. And, by the end of the half, United would have certainly been disappointed that it was only 2-0 as both Welbeck and Rooney came close and were inches away from scoring.

Welbeck grabs his opportunity with both hands

With Robin van Persie out until the New Year, Welbeck was given the opportunity to lead the line, with Rooney playing off him. And the Englishman took the opportunity with both hands as he grabbed a brace and finished the game as United’s standout player. The forward was full of running throughout the game and showed just what he is capable of when he plays in his natural position and not out wide on the left or right.

Whilst Welbeck was his usual industrial self for most of the game, what stood in this performance was his finishing, which is the one quality that has really stopped him from fulfilling his potential. His finishing was first class and he scored two goals from his three shots on target. His positioning for both his goals was amazing and some of his link-up play with Rooney and Valencia was a joy to watch. With the other two strikers out injured, the next month will be crucial for Welbeck, and he started it off with a bang.Returning Rooney brings back control to United’s midfield

Last weekend at home to Newcastle, United were without the suspended Rooney and had Van Persie up front. As a result, they were overrun in midfield and ended up losing the game in the middle of the park. But the return of Rooney brought back some semblance of control in central midfield. The Englishman dropped back, whenever possible to make it three in the middle and help out Ryan Giggs and Tom Cleverley.

There were occasions when Rooney was almost playing like a quarter back and was spraying 60-yard cross field balls and channeling his inner Scholes. What helped matters was that Cleverley, who has been a scapegoat of late, also turned in a standout performance. The Englishman was at the heart of most attacks and was intelligent in his use of the ball. He picked off a lot of attacks and was the one who won the ball back and started the attack, which he himself finished to score the third and final goal.Some things never change

The sun rises in the east, the river flows into the sea and Manchester United always beat Aston Villa at Villa Park. It is almost heart-warming to know that, in this ever-changing footballing world, there are some things that just don’t change. And although United came into this fixture on the back of back-to-back losses for the first time in a decade, and Aston Villa had lost just once in their previous six League games, that record remained intact.

And although Villa started the brighter of the two teams, as soon as the first goal went in, it seemed as though United weren’t going to lose from there on in. Two quick goals deflated the Villa Park faithful and it was difficult to imagine that the team who had recovered the most points from losing situations so far this season coming away from this, with anything but a defeat. And whilst there were a few barren runs against United, that were broken this season, this one never looked in doubt.Moyes finally gets it right whilst Lambert left wondering what went wrong

Whilst the defeat in midweek against Shakhtar Donetsk would have certainly boosted the confidence of the players, there was no doubt that nothing less than a victory at Villa Park would do. And his side duly obliged with Villa being obliging opponents true to their recent record against the Red Devils. The sight of Darren Fletcher back on the pitch will certainly come as a huge plus for Moyes as he is on the lookout for central midfielders.

Whilst Moyes would have been pleased with his side’s performance, Lambert on the other hand, would have been wondering why his side took so long to get into the game. One of the main causes for concern for him would be the form of his star striker Christian Benteke who now gone over 12 hours on the pitch without a single goal. The service to him was almost non-existent in this game, and he will be looking to correct that as his side aim for the security of a mid-table finish with a relatively inexperienced side.