The Swagger is Back (Aston Villa 1 - Manchester United 4)

I'll make this one short since the Rugby World Cup finals is just around the corner.

This was a convincing performance, and it was way before Villa were down to 9 men in the second half. Despite having Ronaldo on the bench, we started out strong and determined. But it was Villa who took a shock lead when Agbonlahor headed the ball into the net on the 13th minute. With Vidic out injured, Villa had their chances to test the defence marshalled by Rio and Pique, but they couldn't convert their chances.

It was a different story on the other end of the pitch. Tevez, Nani, Scholes and Rooney combined to great effect, occasionally showing signs of tearing the Villa defence apart with their passing.

Putting his midweek disappointment behind (England lost to Russia), Rooney helped himself to a couple of goals in the 35th and 44th minute when the Villa defence went to sleep. The first was a simple tap in when Rooney came from the blindside and stroked the ball into a wide open net. The entire Villa defense went to sleep and when they realised where Rooney was, it was too late.

The second goal resulted from a good pass by Tevez. He mesmerised the Villa defense with a jerky run and found Rooney with acres of space. Rooney promptly passed the ball into the net.

A minute later, Rio added his name to the scoresheet, scoring after Villa failed to clear a United corner.

United had complete control of the second half, thanks to the sending offs of Reo Coker and Scott Carson. Reo was sent off for a second bookable offense and Carson received his marching orders for bringing Tevez down in the area. Rooney stepped up to take the penalty and and complete his hat-trick, but he was too casual with it and the substitute Taylor saved it.

With over 20 minutes on the clock and Villa down to 9 men, it looked alot like a training exercise, with Villa concentrating on defense and United keeping possession. And it wasn't long before Giggs added a 4th. His shot was deflected twice into the net. Nothing more than United deserved. Even with the full compliment, we were heads and shoulders the better team on the pitch.

The rest of the game played out without anymore goals, although there were chances aplenty. What's more important is that you have the feeling that the swagger that has been missing since the season started is back. We finally look menacing going forward.