United blow Villa away

Man Utd 4 Aston Villa 0 : Wayne Rooney grabbed a brace just when Manchester United needed it the most as the Red Devils moved…

Man Utd 4 Aston Villa 0: Wayne Rooney grabbed a brace just when Manchester United needed it the most as the Red Devils moved six points clear of the rest at the top of the Premier League.

The England striker had gone six matches for the title-chasers without hitting the target but he rediscovered his touch at Old Trafford as United made it six straight league wins to tighten their grip at the top.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with his 35th goal of a remarkable season and Carlos Tevez added a second to leave Villa stunned. With Arsenal claiming a dramatic victory at Bolton, United knew it was important to keep the momentum going.

And they did just that, going 2-0 ahead in the first half to take a firm grip on the match. Even though Ashley Young went close with a shot in the fourth minute Villa never looked like ending a miserable run of results at the ground, stretching back 25 years.

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United went ahead in the 17th minute. Villa failed to clear Giggs' corner and Rio Ferdinand chested the ball into Ronaldo's path. The Portugal winger clipped an outrageous back-heel through Martin Laursen's legs and beyond Carson.

United made it 2-0 after 33 minutes with Ronaldo this time setting up the goal. He latched on to a clever pass from Scholes and delivered a cross to the back post.

Reo-Coker had gone missing and Tevez was left with the simple task of heading the ball home.

Ronaldo came close in the 52nd minute when his shot hit Wilfred Bouma and came back off the bar. However a minute later Rooney made it 3-0 when he rounded Carson after Ronaldo's flick-on split the Villa defence.

It was Rooney's first goal in six games in all competitions for United and he savoured the moment after taking his tally to 16.

Rooney made it 4-0 in the 70th minute with his second of the game after again being released by Ronaldo and Villa boss Martin O'Neill cut a miserable figure in the lashing rain.

Rooney thought he had scored his hat-trick in the 78th minute, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. Given his unselfish running it would have been well deserved in an impressive show by United.

They played out the last four minutes with 10 men as Giggs came off with what appeared to be a knock.