Giggs struck for the second time in 48 hours to secure a 1-0 victory three minutes before the interval after a superlative first half performance while most of his teammates struggled. Villa gave as good as they got though and created chances to salvage a draw in an exciting second half but for the fourth consecutive match, David O’Leary’s side failed to find the net.
With Mark Delaney and Martin Laursen still out, Liam Ridgewell again lined up alongside Olof Mellberg in central defence. The 19-year-old was guilty of giving Damien Duff too much space when the Chelsea scored on Boxing Day an was almost guilty of the same offence inside the first minute when he allowed Wayne Rooney the time and space to get behind him and shoot. Fortunately for Villa the angle made it a straightforward save for Thomas Sørenson.
Thereafter, however, Villa held their own. There are names whose very appearance on a teamsheet can inspire fear and deep-hearted apprehension: Darren Fletcher and Phil Neville are not among them and a combative four-man Villa midfield soon began to dominate their United counterparts. But the home side’s attacks were dithering, with Carlton Cole and Juan Pablo Angel tracking back to collect the ball and thus slowing the pace down.
United, by contrast, were direct and incisive and Giggs twice came close to scoring in the opening 20 minutes. One mazy run ended with a left-footed drive that deflected off Ulises De la Cruz and landed on the roof of the net. The Welshman should have scored a few minutes later when Gareth Barry, doing a desultory impression of a left-back, slipped and allowed Giggs a free shot from 12 yards that Sørenson tipped over the bar.
Villa continued to struggle to threaten and much of United’s shaky moments were self inflicted. On 39 minutes Roy Carroll collected a corner and contrived to throw the ball straight at Carlton Cole’s back and into the path of Nolberto Solano. The Peruvian’s cross picked out the run of Ridgewell who did well to climb above John O’Shea but could not direct his header either side of the Northern Ireland keeper.
Four minutes later, the visitors were ahead in a move started and finished by the effervescent Giggs. His sublime flick gave John O'Shea space on the right flank, and then moved forward to take the return pass on the edge of the box before drilling a left-footed shot past Sørenson.
Villa gained confidence and began to exert some – albeit ungainly – pressure after the interval but despite a concerted spell of pressure and a number of corners, the home side were unable to eke out a shot. Ferguson responded by introducing the calming Roy Keane and the waspish Cristiano Ronaldo on the hour and the Portuguese youngster again highlighted Villa’s inability to deal with pacy wingers, almost making an immediate impact with a dipping drive that flashed inches wide.
Alan Smith should have added a second goal in injury-time but contrived to strike a close-range shot at the bar but it did not make a difference as United cruised to their eighth win in nine games to go third. Ferguson saw it differently though. “It was the hardest away game of the season, a fantastic, open, end-to-end game,” he said, apparently forgetting their trips to Chelsea and Portsmouth. “We showed a lot of guts tonight, good character in the team.” Villa on the other hand have now sunk into the bottom half of the table after losing and failing to score in four consecutive games, not that O'Leary appears perturbed.