Adnan Januzaj scored his first Premier League goal since April 2014 to hand Manchester United a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League this evening.
The Belgian sliced the ball in from a tight angle in the first half after being played in by Juan Mata.
The result leaves Louis van Gaal's side with six points from their first two matches of the season.
Here, Sports Mole analyses the action from Villa Park.
Match statistics
ASTON VILLA
Shots: 5
On target: 1
Possession: 46%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 14
MANCHESTER UNITED
Shots: 9
On target: 2
Possession: 54%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 10
Was the result fair?
Manchester United did enjoy the majority of the chances, and looked the more likely for most of the match. The home side will feel aggrieved though when they see replays of Matteo Darmian with a handful of Micah Richards's shirt in the penalty area. However, United always looked the more threatening in the box, and probably had enough in hand to force a winner had Villa equalised, so on the whole they just did enough to earn the narrow win.
Aston Villa's performance
After a bright start, Villa allowed the visitors to dictate the tempo for much of the first half, relying too frequently on Richards to slow the likes of Juan Mata and Memphis Depay. Tim Sherwood's side showed plenty of attacking intent either side of half time as they pushed for an equaliser, but seemed to tire towards the end of the match, allowing United to dominate again. Scott Sinclair and Idrissa Gueye both provided some good deliveries into the box, but Jordan Ayew was too often isolated up front.
Manchester United's performance
United failed to make the most of some of their opportunities, with Depay firing wide in front of an open goal in the second half, while Wayne Rooney's first touch was lacking throughout. However, a Daley Blind-led back four remained well organised throughout the night to protect the visitors' lead, ensuring that Sergio Romero only needed to make one save, while Mata and Morgan Schneiderlin controlled the midfield. It was not the best of United, but a couple of stand-out individual performances ensured that the visitors had just enough.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Juan Mata: Although he did not see much action in front of goal, the Spaniard dictated the play in the middle for much of the night, linking up with Depay and Januzaj through the first half, including in the move which resulted in the only goal of the meeting. He also put the ball in for Depay late on, which almost resulted in a second for Van Gaal's men. It was a selfless and effective night's work from Mata.
Biggest gaffe
There were a couple of shockingly poor finishes from Depay, but his shot in the 74th minute stands out. Mata picked the winger out with an excellent through-ball, and Depay timed his run well, leaving himself facing an open goal, only to snatch at the ball, slicing it wide of the far post. He should have at least forced a save from Brad Guzan as a second goal at that stage of the match would have given United a much more comfortable final 15 minutes.
Referee performance
Mike Dean arguably could have awarded the home side a penalty in the first half when Darmian appeared to hold Richards down by his shirt as the Villa captain tried to head in from a corner, but he did not give it, much to the annoyance of the hosts. The referee was not at the best angle to see it, but penalties have been given for less before. Otherwise there were not too many big decisions for the officials.
What next?
Aston Villa: Villa have eight days off before facing a trip to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Manchester United: After a year's absence, United are back in Champions League action on Tuesday, hosting Club Brugge in the first leg of their playoff tie.
Sian Cowper
