The Villans have been tough to beat at home in 2025/26, with Unai Emery guiding his side to six wins, one draw, and just one loss in the eight league matches played in front of their own fans.
United unbeaten in five away from Old Trafford
United were also unbeaten in five games away from Old Trafford, earning 12 points from 24 available, with the last time they'd lost away coming on September 27th against Brentford.
Villa's outfield XI remained the same as their last fixture at West Ham, with only keeper Emiliano Martinez coming back in for Marco Bizot.
Ruben Amorim made three changes to the side that faced Bournemouth, with Patrick Dorgu, Manuel Ugarte and Benjamin Sesko coming in for the suspended Casemiro, as well as the benched Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo.
In each of the last six Premier League games in which Ugarte had started (between April and September), United had lost them all, which is already the longest streak of defeats for a starter at the club in the competition.
50th appearance for Leny Yoro
Leny Yoro's 50th appearance for the visitors meant he had become the first centre-back to reach the milestone for United before turning 21 since Phil Jones in January 2013.
Former United centre-back Victor Lindelof became the first player since Danny Higginbotham in October 2010 to celebrate making his 200th Premier League appearance against them.
Though the visitors would have the first attempt of the game through Matheus Cunha, Villa soon began their attacking onslaught with four shots in two minutes, including one against the woodwork from top scorer, Morgan Rogers.
Cunha and Benjamin Sesko then had attempts on target which didn't trouble Martinez, following a pattern of opposition teams only scoring 31% of their big chances against Villa in the league this season (12/39).
Rogers brings Villa Park to its feet
The game ebbed and flowed leading into the break, before a moment of real quality from Rogers had the whole of Villa Park on its feet.
Cutting in from United's right-hand side, he unleashed a beautiful curling shot that nestled in the top corner.
Given that Villa had avoided defeat in their last 18 matches when scoring first in the Premier League (since a 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest on December 14th 2024), it didn't bode well for visitors who had lost four when conceding the opening goal this season.
Their joy was short-lived, however, as a horrendous error from Matty Cash allowed Cunha the opportunity to bury an equaliser past Martinez in first-half stoppage time, his third goal against Villa in six league appearances.
A 15th first-half goal in 17 games for the Red Devils too, means only Manchester City (21) have scored more in 25/26.
No Bruno in the second half
The Red Devils began the second half without captain Bruno Fernandes, who appeared to have tweaked his hamstring.
It was just the third time in his United career that he'd been subbed at half-time, after a league game against Spurs in October 2020, and a Europa League fixture against Real Sociedad in February 2021.
Many of Villa's players appeared more up for the physical battle after the break, with Youri Tielemans leading by example in this respect.
13 one-on-one duels were attempted, and eight were won, whilst Amadou Onana's seven successful duels from 10 attempted also ensured that the visitors were finding it difficult to break through the lines.
Rogers' carbon copy
Approaching the hour mark, Rogers delivered a carbon copy of his first goal, albeit from a little closer. His second gave him 10 direct goal contributions this season, and no Englishman has been involved in more.
He also became only the second Villa player to score twice in a Premier League game against United after Andreas Weimann in November 2012, as well as scoring 2+ goals in back-to-back top-flight appearances for Villa for the first time since Dion Dublin did so in November 1998 (3 in a row).
To United's credit, they didn't buckle and kept their own passing game going to keep their hosts on their toes.
Luke Shaw was particularly forward-thinking in this respect, playing more passes (10) to Cunha than anyone else bar Ayden Heaven (11).
Cunha, Mason Mount and Patrick Dorgu were all making nuisances of themselves in the hosts' box, with the former firing off more attempts both on and off target as Villa struggled to reassert control.
Jack Fletcher makes history
Sesko's disappointing afternoon saw him hooked early, replaced by Jack Fletcher, son of Darren. The younger Fletcher's cameo helped make him and Fletcher Snr. the first father-and-son duo to represent the club in the Premier League.
Over 40% of the action in the 15 minutes directly after the hour mark had been contested in the Villa defensive third, indicating that United were far from done as an attacking force; however, the hosts' back four held firm.
Lindelof's two interceptions and Ian Maatsen's penchant for putting his body on the line at the crucial moments helped keep the visitors at bay for the remainder of the game.
A 10th straight win in all competitions for the hosts, achieved for the first time in over 100 years, leaves them just three points behind leaders Arsenal heading into the festive fixtures.
