Aston Villa have started life under new head coach Unai Emery with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United in the Premier League at Villa Park.
The Red Devils brought a nine-game unbeaten run into Sunday's contest, while they had not lost at Villa Park in the Premier League since August 1995 ahead of kickoff.
However, it proved to be the perfect start for Emery, with the Spaniard guiding his side to a win over the 20-time English champions, who were second best for the majority of the afternoon.
The result has left Man United in fifth spot in the Premier League table, three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, while Villa have moved into 13th courtesy of the impressive win.
Villa took the lead in the seventh minute of the contest when Leon Bailey, having collected a pass from Jacob Ramsey, broke into a shooting area before expertly firing the ball past David de Gea.
The home side then doubled their advantage in the 11th minute, with Lucas Digne placing a brilliant free kick into the back of the net past the diving De Gea.
Man United were struggling to get into the match at Villa Park, and Emiliano Buendia placed one just over the crossbar in the 16th minute before Matty Cash fired over from distance, with Villa threatening to score a third.
Emiliano Martinez did well to keep out a strike from Alejandro Garnacho and a header from Cristiano Ronaldo, who was captain in the absence of Bruno Fernandes, as the half progressed.
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The Red Devils managed to halve the deficit just before the interval, with Luke Shaw's effort deflecting off Ramsey and into the back of the net, wrong-footing Martinez between the sticks.
The first period ended with Villa holding on, as Man United started to gain more control, but Bailey had the first strike of the second half, testing De Gea with a drive from the restart.
The home side then scored a third in the 49th minute when Ramsey picked out the top corner with a brilliant finish after meeting a low cross from Ollie Watkins.
There was an incident inside the Villa box just before the hour, with Tyrone Mings and Ronaldo clashing off the ball, but the situation did not bring any punishment for either player.
Martinez beat Anthony Elanga to a high ball inside the Villa box, with Man United threatening to score a second in the 67th minute, before Diogo Dalot wasted possession in a brilliant position 15 minutes from time.
There was to be no late response from the Red Devils, though, as they suffered their first defeat in the Premier League since the 6-3 loss to Manchester City in the Manchester derby.
Man United and Villa will lock horns once again next week, with Emery's team heading to Old Trafford in the EFL Cup.
Matt Law
