Man United push pace with Villa win
Ferguson's gamble to rest Wayne Rooney proved correct
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Saturday, 23, Dec 2006 08:37
Manchester United put the title pressure back on rivals Chelsea with a 3-0 away win over Aston Villa.
Having faltered last week and allowed Jose Mourinho's men to shut the gap to just two points, Sir Alex Ferguson sprung a surprise by keeping Wayne Rooney on the bench in his attempt to restore a five-point advantage, if only for a couple of hours.
The legendary Scot may have questioned the wisdom of that decision however when he saw Korean Ji-Sung Park, starting his first game since September, top an intricate United move with a tame finish.
The visitors had narrowly avoided falling behind just moments earlier as Villains' youngster James Gardner saw a header bounce to safety via the post as Edwin van der Sar scrabbled desperately across goal.
A tense first period came to an end without either side really suggesting they had enough to unlock the other's defence, but the solution for Manchester United's attacking problems came from a familiar source just after the hour.
Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo broke from halfway with typical pace and as the Villa defenders stood off him he fired off an initial shot that was pushed clear, but only for the 21-year-old to slot home the rebound.
Five minutes later and Martin O'Neill's plans to stifle his opponents' goal threat and nick a goal at the other end lay in tatters as Paul Scholes terrific 30-yard volley crashed past on-loan Gabor Kiraly for the visitors' second.
Rooney was ushered on by Ferguson in the wake of the celebrations and was soon providing for what seemed like Ronaldo's second before the linesman's flag was spotted.
But the former Sporting Lisbon star was not to be denied for long and secured the win with a simple tap-in from full-back Gary Neville's deep cross three minutes from time.