Aston Villa vs Man United Player Ratings

By ESPNSTAR.com staff

Aston Villa held strong in the first half and went into the break a goal up after Christian Benteke held off Chris Smalling to set up Andreas Weimann's goal. Villa doubled their lead after over-running United's defence with Gabriel Agbonlahor providing a cross in for Weimann to score his second of the game.

However, Hernandez had other ideas when he pulled one back for United near the hour mark when he dispatched Paul Scholes' through ball before helping to equalise the score five minutes later after his shot was deflected into the net by Ron Vlaar. The Mexican then came up with the winning goal three minutes from time when he met Robin van Persie's cross with a diving header to pury it in the net.

Aston Villa

Brad Guzan - 6.5
The American made a couple of good saves but perhaps could have done better with United's opener, when his hesitation in coming off his line allowed Hernandez to control the ball and slip it in between his legs.

Matthew Lowton - 7.5
Lowton put in an excellent shift at right-back and never gave Ashley Young any space to work with.

The 23-year-old also regularly drifted into the middle to provide a spare man in the box, which explained why United struggled to carve open any real chances in the opening 45.

Ron Vlaar - 7
The Villans captain was dominant in the air and teamed up well with Ciaran Clark to starve Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney of the ball.

However, his night ended in unfortunate circumstances as he inadvertently deflected a shot from Hernandez into his own net, injecting further life into the visitors' comeback.

Ciaran Clark - 6.5
Like Vlaar, Clark had a decent game coming up against two of the world's best strikers but his rashness did cost him after the break as he gave United more space to work with in their attacking third.

Enda Stevens - 6.5
Stevens spent the entire game in a one-on-one duel with Antonio Valencia and while he was exposed on a number of occasions by the in-form Ecuadorian, he manfully stuck to his task.
The Irishman also provided good support down the left and showed he is more than capable of whipping in a good cross.

Ashley Westwood - 5.5
Tasked to do the dirty work, Westwood held up well in the first half but he was completely overrun in the second half when United stepped up their play by a notch. He made a few rash tackles and allowed United to pass through his area, denying his defence the protection they enjoyed in the first half.

Barry Bannan (on 87') - 7
Bannan showed excellent initiative for the hosts as he was bustling around in midfield and always asking for the ball, before getting his side on the front foot with his short, incisive passes.

Andreas Weimann (off 81') - 8.5
The Austria international had one of the best games of his career as he gave his side a two-goal lead with a pair of impressive strikes.

First, he showed great technique to meet a centre by Benteke with a ferocious first-time effort that almost took David de Gea's head off, before doubling his tally shortly after the break with a neat finish from a Gabriel Agbonlahor cross.

Stephen Ireland (off 79') - 7
Ireland got the game off to a quiet start but once he found his groove, he was one of Villa's more-dangerous players and looked the most likely to unlock the United defence.

Gabriel Agbonlahor - 7
The 26-year-old saw plenty of the ball down the left but had a tough outing against Rafael, who is one of the few players in the Premier League that can match Agbonlahor for pace.
Nonetheless, the England international refused to give up and made an impact in the 50th minute when he found space down the left and played the perfect cross for Weimann to tap home.

Christian Benteke - 8
United have struggled in recent times against physical strikers and again on Saturday, Benteke posed real problems to them with his sheer speed and strength.
Despite coming up against two equally-imposing defenders in Chris Smalling and Rio Ferdinand, the Belgian easily shrugged off their challenges and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet.

Substitutes

Karim El Ahmadi (on 79') - N/A

Brett Holman (on 81') - N/A

Fabian Delph (on 87') - N/A

Manchester United

David De Gea - 7
De Gea couldn't do much about the two goals conceded - the first was a thunderbolt of a shot and the second was a case of the United defence being dragged open. In better news for United fans, De Gea looked assured when handling crosses into thebox.

Rafael da Silva - 6.5
Rafael overlapped to create the second goal for Hernandez and always looked to be adding an extra body in attack for United. However, he had to call upon his team mates to help him to handle Agbonhalor's runs down the wing.

Rio Ferdinand - 7.5
Ferdinand celebrated his 34th birthday over the week but showed that he is far from being over the hill. He was an assured presence in the defence facing the likes of Agbonlahor and Ireland, using his experience to stop their attacks rather than rely on his physical traits.

Chris Smalling - 5.5
Smalling still lacked the match sharpness given that this is his second game back from a long injury spell. He was easily muscled off the ball on several occasions - one of which resulted in Weimann's first goal.

Patrice Evra - 7
The Frenchman wasn't solid defensively in this game and had a hard time dealing with Benteke's pace. Was not able to contribute much up in attack either despite a couple of forays forward. 

Antonio Valencia - 7
His width and directness helped United shift the ball forward well and he was a constant headache for Enda Stevens down the flank. Valencia may not have directly contributed to any of the goals but the way he was dragging Aston Villa's defenders out of position was a huge asset to United.

Michael Carrick - 7
Carrick was a calming presence in midfield and distributed the ball well despite being constantly under pressure from the Aston Villa players in midfield. He was also always available for his team mates, helping United keep the ball and get 70% possession in the match.

Ashley Young (Off 45') - 5.5
Constantly booed against his former side, Young didn't look as incisive or lethal as his previous games. Lowton won the duel down the flank against him and prevented him from sending in any crosses, which led to his eventual withdrawal at half time.

Paul Scholes (Off 72') - 6.5
Scholes had an uncharacteristically poor first half by his immaculate standards after he gave the ball away needlessly -in fact, it was one of his misplaced passes which led to Aston Villa's second goal. However, Scholes did create United's first goal with an excellent over-the-top ball for Hernandez to score.

Wayne Rooney (Off 79') - 7.5
Rooney saw little of the ball as a striker but did well to drop deep and help facilitate play for his side as an attacking midfielder, the best example of which was when he played Rafael in to cross in for United's second goal. 

Robin Van Persie - 7
Van Persie was unlucky to not be on the scoresheet after striking the woodwork twice in two minutes. The Dutchman saw little of the ball in the first half but showed that he is able to drop deep to collect the ball and play from there. He also created the winning goal for United, swinging in a cross for Hernandez to head home.

Substitutes

Javier Hernandez (On 45') - 8.5
His substitution proved to be a masterstroke from Sir Alex Ferguson after he scored two goals and forced an own goal to help United complete their comeback.
He seems to have instincts to turn goals from improbably situations - as shown when the ball got tangled between his legs in the first goal but he still somehow managed to poke it into the net between Guzan's legs. 

Tom Cleverley (On 72') - 6.5
He came on to replace the tiring Scholes and injected pace into the game to help United sustain their attack but did not contribute much directly to the goals.

Anderson (On 79') - N/A