Wayne Rooney inspired Manchester United to come from behind and beat
Aston Villa 4-1 on Saturday in a game marked by fresh protests against
United manager David Moyes.
A small aeroplane towing an
anti-Moyes banner flew over Old Trafford shortly after kick-off and the
under-fire former Everton manager then saw his side fall behind to an
Ashley Westwood free-kick.
However, Rooney scored twice before
half-time, with Juan Mata and Javier Hernandez adding further goals as
the under-performing champions provisionally moved to within nine points
of the Premier League’s top four.
There were fewer than two
minutes on the clock on a sunny afternoon in Manchester when the plane,
chartered by a group of disgruntled fans, made its appearance, trailing a
banner that read: ‘WRONG ONE – MOYES OUT’.
It was a response to
the pro-Moyes ‘THE CHOSEN ONE’ banner that has adorned the Stretford End
since the beginning of the season, but the man himself received a warm
reception when he emerged before kick-off.
Applause turned to
silence, though, in the 13th minute when Westwood curled a delicate
free-kick over the United wall and inside the left-hand post to put
Villa ahead.
Villa centre-back Ciaran Clark then put a free
header over, but Rooney equalised in the 20th minute when he exploited
slack marking to convert Shinji Kagawa’s left-wing cross with a deft
glancing header.
The England striker completed the turnaround
shortly before half-time, burying a penalty into the bottom-right corner
after Mata had been cleaned out by Leandro Bacuna.
Villa striker
Christian Benteke gave United two big scares early in the second half,
miskicking right in front of goal and then heading just over, but Mata’s
57th-minute strike gave the hosts breathing space.
After
Marouane Fellaini tried to bundle his way through in the Villa area, the
ball popped out to Mata, who thrashed home right-footed to claim his
first United goal since his club-record £37.1 million ($61.2 million,
44.8 million euros) move from Chelsea in January.
Substitute
Hernandez made it 4-1 in injury time, touching home an Adnan Januzaj
cross to complete an encouraging display ahead of United’s mid-week
Champions League date with Bayern Munich.
Later on Saturday,
leaders Chelsea can provisionally extend their advantage over
second-place Liverpool to four points by winning at fourth-bottom
Crystal Palace.
Third-place Manchester City will look to maintain the
pressure on Jose Mourinho’s side when they travel to fourth-place
Arsenal, who are in danger of being eliminated from the title race.
At
the other end of the table, second-bottom Cardiff City visit fellow
relegation contenders West Bromwich Albion hoping to bridge the
three-point gap that separates them from the Midlands club.
Elsewhere, Swansea City host Norwich City, Hull City travel to Stoke City, and Southampton tackle Newcastle United.
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