Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United - 7M sport

Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United

Posted Monday, March 01, 2010 by Goal.com

'Wazza' scores cup final winner at Wembley.

Manchester United won their second successive League Cup with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium this afternoon. James Milner scored an early penalty for the Villans before Michael Owen equalised for the Red Devils. Wayne Rooney came off the bench and his 73rd minute header won the game for United.

Aston Villa had a penalty in the fourth minute, Ashley Young played the ball over the top for Gabriel Agbonlahor on the left. The striker burst free and got in behind Nemanja Vidic, charging into the penalty area, the Serb recovered but brought Agbonlahor down with a clumsy challenge and the referee pointed to the spot. Milner stepped up and hammered the ball into right-hand side of the goal: 1-0 to Villa.

Martin O'Neill was unhappy with the referee's decision not to caution Vidic for the challenge, the United defender was the last man and denied Agbonlahor a clear shot on goal.

Manchester United had an equaliser within eight minutes of the opening goal. Dimitar Berbatov dispossessed Richard Dunne high on the left flank and advanced on goal. Dunne managed to get back and recover, making a good challenge on the edge of the penalty area. Unfortunately for the Villans the ball fell straight to Owen, who rifled it low into the bottom left-hand corner from 16 yards: 1-1.

Villa responded well and Milner tested Tomasz Kusczack in the 16th minute, dribbling inside from the right, the England international sold Jonny Evans with a cute step-over on the edge of the box. Shifting the ball onto his left foot, he smashed a stinging drive goalwards. Kusczack did well to parry as the ball was curling away from him.

United continued to press forward too, Park Ji-Sung combined well with Berbatov in the 20th minute, driving into the left-hand side of the box and exchanging a one-two with the Bulgarian forward. Park went for goal as he received Berbatov's flicked back-heel pass, but he didn't connect fully with his shot and it limped wide of the right-hand post.

Both sides continued to attack but chances became increasingly disparate as defensive nerves began to settle. United worked a couple of good shooting opportunities but these were either blocked by a Villa defender or were dragged wide of the target.

United managed to split the Villa defence towards the end of the first half. Berbatov flicked the ball towards Owen, who burst through into the left-hand side of the box. He pulled up just as he was about to pull the trigger and looked to have pulled him hamstring. The injury was confirmed when Rooney was brought off the bench to replace the Englishman just minutes before the interval.

United had a glorious chance to go into the break in the lead, Berbatov played the ball to Antonio Valencia on the right flank and the Ecuadorian took advantage of a slip by Stephen Warnock. He attacked the byline and drilled the ball across the face of the goal, it was cleared at the front post but only as far as Park who rattled the inside of the right-hand post with a first time shot. The ball rolled across the goal line and was cleared by a defender on the line.

United tore open the Villa defence three minutes into the second half. Park played the ball to Berbatov on the edge of the box who controlled and back-heeled to Michael Carrick. The Englishman jinked inside and unleashed a powerful drive that arched towards the right-hand corner of the goal. Brad Friedel produced an excellent diving save to push the ball behind for a corner.

Villa sprung on the break a minute later with Stewart Downing playing Agbonlahor into the channel on the left. The striker attacked Vidic and drove beyond the Serb to find space in the left-hand side of the box. He fizzed a cross-shot towards the far post but got his bearings all wrong and it zipped high and wide of the target.

Berbatov combined with Rooney in the 53rd minute to create an opening for the Englishman. The Bulgaria controlled beautifully on his chest to lay the ball off for his strike partner, who was arriving from the edge of the box. Dunne stretched to divert the ball away from the Liverpudlian before he could get off a shot on goal.

United were forced to make another change just after the hour mark, with Rafael da Silva picking up an injury as he stretched to clear on the right. He was replaced by Gary Neville, who was appearing in his ninth final for Manchester United.

Villa started to turn the screw on their opponents, and won a corner on the right. United could only half clear the cross into the box and Ashley Young had a chance to get a strike off at goal. He had time to watch the ball drop onto his foot, but he snapped at it and his shot skewed wide.

Rooney gave United the lead in the 73rd minute with yet another header. Valencia drove into the right-hand side of the box and exchanged passes with Berbatov before floating the ball towards Rooney in the centre. Under pressure from James Collins, the Englishman sent a superbly cushioned header into the top right-hand corner of the goal, beyond the helpless Friedel: 2-1 to United.

The game was almost beyond Villa in the 78th minute, Valencia picked out Rooney at the back post again with a precise cross and the Englishman powered a bullet header towards the bottom left-hand corner. Friedel was scrambling, and wasn't going to make it, but luckily for him the ball rattled off the inside of the post and bounced out to deny Rooney a second delightful headed goal.

O'Neill responded by making an attacking substitution, bringing off right-back Carlos Cuellar and throwing on forward John Carew. Villa began to go increasingly direct from this point on, and they almost prospered when Downing shifted the ball onto his right foot and sent a wondeful cross into the back post area. This was met by Heskey and his headed ricocheted off Vidic's shoulder and looped goalwards. Kusczack managed to react and tipped the ball over the crossbar for a corner.

Time was running out for the Villans as they continued to throw men forward. Dunne almost got onto the end of a Downing cross that was chipped into the back post area from the right-hand side of the box. The Villa captain threw himself at the ball but couldn't quite connect with the cross.



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