Rooney Restores The Faith In Him

When a player has his back against the wall to perform, he could very crumble under that pressure, but Manchester United's Wayne Rooney showed that he has the mettle to cope.

Rooney Gets A Roaring Reception

Before the match, Rooney's place in United's starting XI was questioned by everyone except for Sir Alex Ferguson, and the Reds' center forward showed exactly what is capable of with by scoring a first half double against Aston Villa.

The 3-1 win over Aston Villa confirms that Sir Alex was very wise not over spend before the close of yesterday's transfer window, because the victory saw one of United's best performers not even able get a kick of the ball.

After watching two prominent center forwards transfer to another Barclays Premier League club yesterday for an absurd amount of money, Sir Alex did not need either of his goal scorers from United's previous match as the Reds increased their league-leading goal scoring total to 54, which is four more than their closest competitor.

In spite of only starting three times in United's seven games during the month of January, Javier Hernandez's four timely goals certainly begged the question of whether he deserved to be in the Reds' starting line-up against the Lions.

Ferguson thought not, and once again it showed that the United boss knows best when selecting his team as Hernandez was forced to watch a fluent, formidable partnership between Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov take center stage at Old Trafford.

All three goals that Red Devils scored were well worked team goals, but it was third one that was the pick of the lot, and the majority of United supporters had the commentary, "... with a captain's goal" ringing in their ears.

Darren Bent just scored to cut United's two goal lead in half, and when United need someone to show some brilliance and Nemanja Vidic's thunderbolt was just the tonic the home side needed to get all three points.

Assured
The major concern that may have been addressed in the January transfer window was United's midfield, but Michael Carrick's presence with both Darren Fletcher and Anderson was vital.

After suffering two bone-bruising tackles in wins over Liverpool and Birmingham City caused him to miss United's last two matches, Carrick brought the composure that was missing.

Ferguson has deployed him in a foreign position this season, which has seen Carrick transform into a holding midfielder to protect the susceptible United back-four.

Since that change, United's often-exposed back-line has settled them down, and the Reds have fixed all of their leaks.

There is no questioning that Vidic is the heart and soul of the back-four, but the defense is nothing without all of the other puzzle pieces in place.

The understanding that him and Rio Ferdinand have is outstanding and one of the best defensive partnerships in United's history, but without the first-choice full-backs they can be carved open and stretched.

Patrice Evra and Rafael are clearly Sir Alex's first-choice full-backs, because of what they offer both aiding the United attack, but also making recovery runs.

The goal that Bent scored was created after Evra was pinched way too far inside, but that was because of Gerard Houllier giving his attackers free reign to interchange with one another.

On the other side of the pitch, Rafael's pace and energy was clearly missed in the latter stage of the second half when Marc Albrighton and Ashley Young terrorized John O'Shea down Villa's left-hand flank.

Better
United's opening goal was created from a commanding and precise long ball from Edwin van der Sar, which has been cardinal for the Reds in the last few matches.

On three different occasions his clearance has indirectly, and directly against led to a goal, and that type of service will sorely missed when he retires at the end of the season.

van der Sar was not called into action too many times against the Villians, but when he was, the big United goalkeeper was more than up to the challenge, which will always a team a chance to win any game.

The Barclays Premier League matches between Aston Villa and Manchester United rarely disappoint, and even though the scoreline could have been more emphatic, Sir Alex Ferguson will be happy to just get all three points from this and every match from here on out.