Aston Villa v Manchester United ratings: Ramsey 9, Watkins 9; Van de Beek 3, Ronaldo 5

Villa manager Unai Emery masterminds superb victory in his first game in charge

ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez – 7 The skipper indulged in some ball juggling early on and was booked for time wasting late on, but did the basics of his job well, making fine stops from Ronaldo and Garnacho, then blocking Elanga’s header after the break. Blameless for Shaw’s deflected effort. AFP

Matty Cash – 7 Dealt comfortably with Garnacho early on and felt confident enough to try a 30-yarder inside 15 minutes. Was increasingly tested by the young Argentinian as the game wore on but proved up to the challenge. Getty

Ezri Konsa – 7 Sharp and aggressive to stamp his authority on United’s attack from the opening exchanges onwards. Gave Ronaldo nothing to work with and provided Martinez with a strong defensive shield. Getty

Tyrone Mings – 8 Started well and imposed himself on the action in the early exchanges. Dealt with any aerial questions posed of him, including one vital touch before Ronaldo could head in and another to stop Rashford going through. Booked for felling Ronaldo on the edge of the Villa box. Getty

Lucas Digne – 8 Came back into Emery’s first starting XI and marked the recall with a fine free-kick to double Villa’s early lead. Afforded plenty of room whenever he opted to go forward and was given zero trouble defensively by an out-of-sorts Rashford. AP

Jacob Ramsey – 9 Restored to the starting lineup by Emery and took just six minutes to register a measured assist for Bailey. Unfortunate own-goal when Shaw’s rasper hit his back and looped past Martinez, but soon atoned with a brilliant finish for Villa’s third. Troubled United all afternoon. Reuters

Leander Dendoncker – 8 Brought the physicality which allowed Villa to boss midfield. Halted a handful of turnovers and lent admirable defensive support. Headlines will go elsewhere, but the Belgian was quietly dominant. AP

Douglas Luiz – 7 Passing radar proved patchy at times but was his customarily effective self in terms of limiting the influence of United’s midfield creators. Read the game well and was invariably in the right place at the right time. Action Images

Emiliano Buendia – 9 Buzzed about the visitors throughout, never giving any of the United defenders time in possession. Curled a right-footer just past the top corner but his industry was emblematic of Villa’s approach. Superb. PA

Leon Bailey – 8 Warned United early on by troubling both Martinez and Shaw, and capped that with a clinically-taken opener. Delighted the home fans with his tricky, fearless approach. Booked for halting a Shaw surge just before half-time. Quieter second half but the damage was long done. AP

Ollie Watkins – 9 Preferred to lead the line ahead of Danny Ings and quickly played his part with a starring role in Villa’s first and third goals. Terrorised Lindelof. An energetic, selfless and intelligent outlet, providing a textbook outing for a lone striker. Getty

SUBS: John McGinn (Leon Bailey, 70) – 6 Entered the fray when Bailey failed to recover from clashing with Martinez. Kept things simple and tidy as Villa ran down the clock. Reuters

Danny Ings (Buendia, 79) – 6 Given little time but put in important hard yards as Villa looked to see out the final minutes. Boubacar Kamara (Ollie Watkins, 78) – 7 Timely return from injury for the midfielder. AP

Ashley Young (Lucas Digne, 79) – 7 Provided alert defensive reinforcements as Villa pre-empted United’s late pressure and saw out the win in comfort. PA

Morgan Sanson (Leander Dendoncker, 90) – N/A Afforded a great reception on his return, but had no time to impact proceedings. PA

MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea - 5 The ball was in his net after seven minutes and again after 10 minutes after an awful start for United. Little chance of getting across to it. Bailey was his biggest tormentor but he almost gifted Ings a goal on 80. Poor after six clean sheets in seven. AFP

Diogo Dalot - 5 Overhit crosses in late first half push. Should have shot but instead chose to cut the ball back – the wrong cut back when United had a 73rd minute attack. Getty

Lisandro Martinez - 5 Chased Bailey down but couldn’t get close to enough as Villa went ahead. Took a poor touch which put Shaw in trouble two minutes later. Headed the ball to a Villa player in the build up to their third. Incredible pass for Elanga on 67. Reuters

Victor Lindelof - 4 Given a man marking job to follow the Villa strikers, which meant the other defenders and midfielders had to drop and cover. None did before Villa’s first, but the Swede was poor. PA

Luke Shaw - 5 Booked after 9 as United started with a struggle. Gave the free kick up which Digne scored from. Fortuitous as his 45th minute shot was deflected in. Brought off. PA

Casemiro - 6 Steady overall but left a hole behind him which Villa exploited for their opening goal. Strong tackle on Buendia after 22 but bad day at the office for the Brazilian. PA

Christian Eriksen - 5 His balls started to find their range but too little in a mediocre performance. Reuters

Marcus Rashford - 5 Silly fouls late on looked desperate. Ineffective on the right and the same on the left when Elanga came on. PA

Alejandro Garnacho - 6 Preferred to Elanga who had done so well at Villa last season and skilfully had a shot on target on 33. Tried to beat Cash on several occasions but showed him too much of the ball. Getty

Donny van de Beek - 3 Did little in his first United league start for almost two years. A weak header before United’s goal wasn’t cleared and finally fell to Shaw who shot. Looks short of confidence and match fitness and can’t get into the few games in which he’s selected. Getty

Cristiano Ronaldo - 5 Captain for the day but unable to lift his team. A very good chance to pull a goal back but his header was too close to Martinez. Booked for a tangle with Mings after an hour but another game without a goal. Getty

SUBS: Tyrell Malacia - 5 On for Shaw after 65 in a triple substitution. Little impact. Getty

Anthony Elanga - 5 On for Garnacho after 65 and was about to touch the ball when Villa goalkeeper Martinez smashed into him. So impressive in the equivalent game last season. Not this. Getty

Anthony Martial - 5 On for Van de Beek after 65 in his first league minutes for a month. A fit and firing Martial could be important for a United side lacking goals and still on a minus goal difference. Getty

Nov 6, 2022

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery tasted victory in his first game in charge as his side beat Manchester United 3-1 in the Premier League on Sunday, the visitors' first defeat in 10 matches in all competitions.

Former Arsenal boss Emery was given a warm welcome by home supporters ahead of the match, and he could not have wished for a better start to life back in the Premier League as Villa raced into a two-goal lead inside 11 minutes.

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Leon Bailey arrowed a strike into the bottom corner to give Villa the lead, before Lucas Digne curled a sublime free kick past the despairing dive of United goalkeeper David de Gea, much to Emery's delight on the touchline.

United improved a great deal as the half wore on, creating several openings before Luke Shaw's strike took a huge deflection off Jacob Ramsey and found the net on the cusp of halftime to give the visitors hope.

Those hopes were quickly dashed, however, as Ramsey made amends, finding the top corner four minutes into the second half to restore Villa's two-goal advantage.

Player ratings from Villa Park can be seen in the gallery above. To view the next image, just swipe.

Updated: November 06, 2022, 4:49 PM