Manchester United beat Aston Villa 1-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, courtesy of a first-half strike from Bruno Fernandes.The Portuguese latched onto a loose ball after Emiliano Martinez parried a strike from Marcus Rashford straight into his path, and he fired a powerful shot into the far corner.The Red Devils were the better side all throughout, dominating possession and creating better chances, but some wastefulness kept them from scoring more goals.𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎@TheEuropeanLadFT: Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa.Another big step made by Erik ten Hag and his team towards securing top 4!170577FT: Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa.Another big step made by Erik ten Hag and his team towards securing top 4! https://t.co/qeyv55rcQ0Aston Villa had a good chance of scoring, but Emiliano Buendia fired straight at David de Gea in the closing stages of the opening stanza, while Douglas Luiz saw a shot cleared off the line by Victor Lindelof in the 81st minute.For the first time in eight Premier League games, Aston Villa lost a game, while Manchester United edged closer to Champions League qualification by consolidating their position in fourth.Here are the player ratings for Manchester United:David de Gea - 7/10The Manchester United custodian was rarely tested in goal, but when called into action, he produced a vital save on Emiliano Buendia in the first half.Diego Dalot - 7.5/10Highly impactful at both ends of the pitch. With four clearances and one interception, he was solid in defense but also helped on the offensive end with crosses and link-up plays.Victor Lindelof - 7.5/10Excellent positional awareness and reading of the game to keep everything tidy at the back.Luke Shaw - 7/10A clumsy moment early on nearly led to a Villa goal, but Shaw recovered thereafter and had a fine outing.Tyrell Malacia - 7/10The 23-year-old made an excellent sliding challenge on John McGinn in the first half and laid a dangerous cross into the box late on too. A much improved performance from last time out.Casemiro - 7.5/10He created the winning goal with a long ball over the top of Villa's defense, but much to Manchester United's chagrin, he wasted two chances to score after the break.Christian Eriksen - 6/10He wasted several chances and looked sloppy in possession, too.Jadon Sancho - 7.5/10Sancho constantly tested Villa's defense with his dribbles and electric pace, and Ashley Young struggled to deal with it.Marcel Sabitzer - 6/10The Austrian has been missing his shooting boots for a while, and that continued here with another wasteful performance.Bruno Fernandes - 8/10Bruno Fernandes scored the winner for Manchester United with a thumping finish into the far corner and helped stretch out Villa's defense with his movements.Statman Dave@StatmanDaveBruno Fernandes’ game by numbers vs. Aston Villa:52 touches 9 final third passes completed 3 ground duels won3 ball recoveries 2/3 tackles won 2 long balls completed 1 key pass1 big chance created 1 goal Magnifico. 🪄56456Bruno Fernandes’ game by numbers vs. Aston Villa:52 touches 9 final third passes completed 3 ground duels won3 ball recoveries 2/3 tackles won 2 long balls completed 1 key pass1 big chance created 1 goal Magnifico. 🪄 https://t.co/V4IPiRqEWlMarcus Rashford - 8/10He made the most of Villa's high line as Rashford broke through the middle by sitting on the last defender. This helped Fernandes score his goal, as the former's shot after such a run was parried into the Portuguese's path by Emiliano Martinez.SubstitutesFred (76' for Eriksen) - 6.5/10He created a good chance late on, but Antony wasted it.Antony (76' for Sancho) - 6/10His first touch for that Fred chance was poor, allowing Martinez to calmly collect the ball.Harry Maguire (86' for Sabitzer) - 6.5/10He made one vital clearance in the closing stages.Anthony Martial (86' for Rashford) - 6.5/10The Frenchman blocked a powerful effort from Callum Chambers in the final seconds of the match.