Wayne Rooney produced a memorable strike to help his Manchester United side earn a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League this afternoon, with Ander Herrera also grabbing a brace at Old Trafford.
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United started the game brightly and they were soon shouting for a penalty as Marouane Fellaini fed in Wayne Rooney, who thought he was pulled down by Ciaran Clark only for referee Roger East to wave play on.
As Louis van Gaal's charges continued to dominate, Villa sought to play out on the counter and Christian Benteke did well to produce a smart stop from David de Gea down at his bottom right corner.
With the hosts sensing an opener Marcos Rojo tried to test Brad Guzan, and he found the keeper in good form as the American stopper pushed his long-range shot over the crossbar.
In a half dominated by the Red Devils the home side were wasteful again, this time as Rooney fired wide to the left from Antonio Valencia's cross into the box.
United finally grabbed the goal that their first-half dominance deserved in the 43rd minute, as Ander Herrera picked up the ball from Daley Blind before finishing into the bottom right corner with his left.
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Tim Sherwood's men produced an early signal in the second half that they had not yet given up on the game, with Andreas Weimann breaking away to play in Benteke, who blazed over the bar from close range.
After a quiet showing in the fixture Fellaini had the chance to redeem himself when Valencia stood a cross up towards the back post, leaving the Belgian to head straight at Guzan when another goal looked almost certain.
Rooney pulled off a memorable strike on the turn to put his side 2-0 ahead in the 79th minute, but United's two-goal lead was not to last too long. Benteke profited from some poor defending to finish past De Gea following Joe Cole's cross just one minute later.
The hosts cemented all three points in injury time through Herrera, who returned to grab his second of the afternoon with a neat side-footed finish created by some clever interplay between Angel di Maria and Rooney.
Christopher Dodd
