Agbonlahoor 21

Gabriel Agbonlahor’s near-post header midway through the first half gave Aston Villa their first win at Old Trafford since 1983 and denied Manchester United the chance to close the gap on EPL leaders Chelsea.

A below-par United were snuffed out by a tremendously hard-working Villa side organised to near-perfection by manager Martin O’Neill - seen by many as Sir Alex Ferguson’s natural successor to the Old Trafford throne, should the beknighted Scot ever abdicate.

Neither side had mustered a noteworthy effort on goal when Villa took the lead on 21 minutes, Agbonlahor reaching Ashley Young’s inswinging right-foot cross from the left ahead of United keeper Tomasz Kuszczak and nodding home from six yards.

The goal snapped the game into life and before long, Villa’s American keeper Brad Friedel became the busier of the two net-minders.

He pulled off a fine stop on 23 minutes to divert Michael Carrick’s well-struck 25-yard drive away to safety.

But he was rendered a spectator seven minutes later when Wayne Rooney set himself up for a shot with a fabulous first touch to a Patrice Evra cross, only to see his effort crash off the underside of the crossbar.

Midweek hat-trick hero Michael Owen replaced the unusually ineffective Ryan Giggs at half-time. And he created United’s best chance of an equaliser, crossing for fellow substitute Dimitar Berbatov, who missed his kick six yards out.

The Bulgarian striker did rather better five minutes from the end with a fiercely-struck right-foot shot from 20 yards, but Friedel stretched out his right hand to brilliantly turn the ball aside.

This came moments after Nemanja Vidic’s close-range header had been cleared off the line. And United were never as threatening during the three minutes of stoppage time, a period which had Ferguson predictably outraged with the fourth official as United slumped to their first home defeat of the EPL season.