It was far from pretty, but Manchester United did enough to ensure another three points as the Premiership leaders extended their lead at the top of the table. Fortunate goals form Gary Neville and Teddy Sheringham secured the victory, and with Sunderland not playing until tomorrow and Arsenal managing only a draw at Leicester, United now move 14 points clear at the top.
In a scrappy game that saw David Beckham rested and Andy Cole start from the bench, watching England manager Sven Goran Eriksson will nonetheless be satisfied by some of the performances of possible international contenders. David James will have done his chances no harm with a succession of key saves, although his parry for Sheringham's clincher may not have gone unnoticed. Young centre-half Gareth Barry produced another assured display, while United's Gary Neville, Teddy Sheringham and Nicky Butt caught the eye as United's better players.
However, it was Welsh wizard Ryan Giggs who produced the day's outstanding performance, his mazy runs and accurate centres causing the Villa defence several nervous moments throughout.
Following a bright opening, the tempo dropped dramatically, with Roy Keane looking strangely out of sorts in midfield. On several occasions the Corkman's passing failed to find its destination, but nonetheless, the Old Trafford outfit proved too strong for Villa, who had £9.5million signing Juan Pablo Angel make a quiet debut as David Ginola was again relegated to the bench.
The Reds had to wait until the 56th minute before making the breakthrough, when Hendrie was penalised for an obstruction on Roy Keane. The United skipper got up to swing the ball in for Gary Neville to touch home his first goal of the season from a couple of yards out. Sheringham wrapped up another three points for United in the 87th minute. Substitute Andy Cole broke down the right and when he pulled the ball back, James could only touch it to Sheringham who knocked it into the inviting net.
Filed by Shane Murray
