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Manchester United turned things around with an easy win over a bustling Aston Villa side on a distracting day for the club.
Wayne Rooney scored a first-half double to wipe out Ashley Westwood’s wonderful opener. Juan Mata then grabbed his first goal for the club midway through the first half as United were on top.
Aston Villa had a few chances, especially Christian Benteke, but could not convert them.
Javier Hernandez rounded off the scoring to give United a 4-1 win with a late finish.
The win was needed after a banner saying ‘MOYES OUT’ was flown over Old Trafford in the first half.
Key Stats
In terms of chances at either ends, it was quite an even game but United hit a lot more of their shots on target. Aston Villa’s problem today was how poor they were in front of goal.
Seven shots off target shows that they had their chances and could have got something from today had they been more clinical.
Man Utd did control possession with 55% of the ball but, unusually, had no corners.
On another day, Aston Villa may have got a point at Old Trafford. They will be ruing their missed chances.
Rooney – Man of the Match
Wayne Rooney won the Squawka Man of the Match with a Performance Score of 66. He completed just 12 passes but did create a chance from a cross.
All in all, Rooney had five shots, hitting three on target and scoring two of them. Overall, it was a quiet performance from the Englishman but he was lively in front of goal and could’ve scored a hat-trick.
Performance Score
Aston Villa finished with a Performance Score of -165 while United achieved a Score of 274.
The only point at which Villa were ahead was when Westwood scored after 13 minutes. It was a wonderful free-kick that gave the visitors the lead and looked to bring further doom and gloom to Moyes’ doorstep.
However, not long after, it was clear when United took control of the game. Their Performance Score moved from -67 to -21 when Rooney scored his first goal. The scores then took another huge twist when the Englishman scored his penalty just before half-time.
It was then clear for the rest of the game how the flow of the match went. However, if Villa had finished their chances, we would have a completely different graph here.
Man United Attempted Crosses
Man Utd were a lot more attacking and didn’t cross as many times as they previously have done this season. Just 13 crosses were sent into Villa’s penalty area, of which five led to goalscoring opportunities. In fact, two goals came from crosses so they worked well today.
Man United Attempts/Goals
United were accurate when shooting, too. Six of their 9 shots hit the target and when you’ve got that ratio you’re going to do well unless the goalkeeper you’re shooting at has the performance of his life.
Also, Aston Villa made 20 fewer clearances than Man Utd, which showed it wasn’t as much a case of plain sailing for the Red Devils as the scoreline may suggest.
