Report: United 2 Villa 0

Our visitors came into the contest still in the picture for European qualification for next season via their league position, but it was United who dominated proceedings throughout, with a host of first-half opportunities, including a shot off the post from substitute Diogo Dalot.

Villans goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was dismissed in first-half stoppage time after denying a goalscoring opportunity for Rasmus Hojlund, who he brought down as the last man midway in his own half.

United continued to control the contest after the break and eventually broke the resolve of the away side in the 76th minute, when Amad headed home the opener, which was followed up with a Christian Eriksen penalty 10 minutes later.

FIRST HALF - UNITED SHOW PROMISE

Ruben Amorim made three changes to the the XI that experienced heartache in the Europa League final, with Altay Bayindir getting the nod between the sticks, while Victor Lindelof and Ayden Heaven were introduced to flank Harry Maguire in our back three. Andre Onana, Leny Yoro and Luke Shaw were the three to make way.

In the opposition ranks, Unai Emery had plenty of strength to call upon, including their now-record Premier League goalscorer Olllie Watkins and former Real Madrid ace Marco Asensio, but Marcus Rashford, absent of late for the Villans through injury in any case, was ineligible to feature as part of the terms of his loan spell away from M16.

It was one of the away side's big names at the other end of the field who was most heavily involved in the action early on, however, as United started on the front foot and could have taken the lead on a couple of occasions inside the opening quarter of an hour, but for the commanding presence of Martinez in the Villa goal.

Mason Mount was first to suffer from the Argentinian's shot-stopping expertise, with two quickfire efforts in the third minute. The midfielder brilliantly volleyed goalwards from a Noussair Mazraoui cross down the right, with Martinez palming clear with a strong right hand, before Hojlund fed it back into the box to find Mount again, whose header, though firm, went straight at the Villans' no.23.

A sensational piece of play started and ended by Bruno Fernandes, interspersed by single-touch passes from Amad and Mazraoui, led Martinez to make another save, holding a stinging low strike from our captain at his near post. He got down well again, minutes later, to prevent a 20-yard effort by Casemiro from sneaking inside the near post.

Mount then crossed well from the left, as his delivery narrowly evaded Hojlund, looking to head it towards goal, but Amad looked set to apply the perfect touch just behind him, when he sidefooted a shot just beyond the bottom right-hand corner, with Martinez unmoved on that occasion. Mount had seen a dangerous strike inadvertently blocked by Hojlund just before then, too.

Villa's first threat came on the break shortly afterwards, leading to a sustained spell of possession in front of our goal, but the nearest they came to testing Bayindir during that period was when Morgan Rogers had a shooting opportunity which was met by a courageous block by Mazraoui, before Heaven nodded a cross clear.

Mazraoui had to be withdrawn with 19 minutes played, and Diogo Dalot coming off the bench in a like-for-like change at right wing-back. Dalot had not featured at Old Trafford since scoring in last month's extra-time win against Lyon in the Europa League, but quickly found his rhythm again here and, indeed, very nearly found the net again, just after the half's midpoint.

After we'd played a free-kick short down the left-hand side, Dorgu fed Fernandes to cross from deep, with Heaven and Casemiro closest to getting a head on it, under pressure from Martinez. Maguire picked up the loose ball and replicated some of that majestic wing play on display away at Athletic Club a couple of weeks ago to engineer the room to tee up Dalot, who swept a strike across goal and against the left-hand post. Dorgu, Hojlund and Heaven fought to prod home amid the ensuing scramble in the box, but Villa managed to avert the danger.

Dalot continued to contribute in attack, timing his run to perfection to latch on to a Fernandes ball down the right side of the box, but his first-time cutback across goal was played just behind Hojlund. Casemiro tried to square from Maguire from the resulting corner but had that attempted cross intercepted near the byline, and Mount whipped another shot straight at Martinez a couple of moments afterwards.

United failed to edge in front before the interval, but did end the half with a man advantage over their opponents. Hojlund looked to move clear on goal when he latched on to a loose back-pass from Matty Cash, and attempted to knock the ball past on-rushing goalkeeper Martinez, but the World Cup winner barged him to the ground and, in doing so, gave referee Thomas Bramall no choice but to show a straight red card, in one of the final act's of the half.

SECOND HALF - AMAD AND ERIKSEN EARN VICTORY

The Reds began the second half with another change of personnel at right wing-back, with Dalot withdrawn at the break and Amad retreating into the deeper wide role while Kobbie Mainoo was brought on to occupy one of the two attacking midfield roles. That aside, United picked up where we left off in the first half, with a number of attempts on goal in the opening minutes of the half - including a couple that were blocked, before Fernandes followed up one wild strike by nearly nestling another effort inside the top corner from distance.

Hojlund had also put the ball in the net during that time but celebrated too soon, the offside flag denying him, after he'd nodded Maguire's flick-on beyond substitute goalkeeper Robin Olsen. Casemiro nearly found the net himself, with a clever curling shot to the far-right corner, which clipped off the outside of the post on its way behind.

Hojlund and Mainoo exchanged opportunities for one another - the former crossing to the back post with his team-mate not quite close enough to get on the end of it, before Mainoo robbed Pau Torres of possession in the box and fed Hojlund, who could not bring the ball under his control. Another Casemiro effort, following a header away from Ian Maatsen which fell short, flashed just over, before a rare Villa strike saw John McGinn drag wide at the other end.

Both sides made double substitutions after the hour, with Villa introducing Youri Tielemans and Jacob Ramsey, while Christian Eriksen and Jonny Evans - whose summer departures were later confirmed after the final whistle at Old Trafford - made their final appearances for the club off the bench. One of the Reds making way, Heaven, had done well to shepherd the breaking Rogers wide on the counter, in his final act on the field.

Eriksen quickly made his mark in a passage of neat one-touch play which saw Fernandes send a left-footed strike just wide, and it was the same outcome when the pair combined again for Fernandes to shoot again shortly afterwards.

The visitors thought they should have had the advantage, with just over 15 minutes left to play, when they had the ball in the net through Rogers. Maguire had headed back towards his own goal, with Bayindir appearing to have collected, but the Villa man was deemed to have kicked the ball out of the hands of our no.1 to shoot into an empty net. Referee Thomas Bramall had given a foul in real time, a decision which was ratified by the VAR.

Instead, it was United who took the lead, only three minutes later, through Amad in the 76th minute. Fernandes dug out a cross from what looked to be too central a position, but he swung it in delightfully to the back post, where Amad met the flight of the ball perfectly to nod it beyond Olsen into the far corner. For the first time on the day, that goal led our opponents to sit outside of the top five, and thus miss out on a Champions League place.

United continued to dominate, and got a second in what was a case of third time striking gold for Eriksen - who swept a free-kick onto the roof of the net, and another left-footed drive just wide, before he was handed the ball by Fernandes to take an 87th-minute spot-kick. Amad had been brought down just inside the box by Maatsen to lead to the decision for the penalty, and Eriksen made no mistake, capping his final appearance with a goal in front of the Stretford End.

Villa's best spell of pressure was only instigated at this point, and ultimately came in vain, with Eriksen contributing at the other end with an important block to stop a Tielemans strike, and Casemiro did likewise with a challenge on Cash, who was also denied by a Bayindir save.

There was almost another beautiful farewell moment, in the case of Evans, who hung a header towards the top corner in the final minute of stoppage-time, only to be kept out by a sprawling Olsen save - with a final three points of the season for the Reds already sewn up by this point.

MATCH DETAILS

United: Bayindir; Lindelof, Maguire, Heaven (Evans 66); Mazraoui (Dalot 19 (Mainoo 46)), Casemiro, Fernandes (c), Dorgu; Amad, Mount (Eriksen 66); Hojlund (Obi 81).

Substitutes: Heaton, Fredricson, Collyer, Ugarte.

Goals: Amad 76, Eriksen 87 (penalty).

Booked: Amad 45+1.

Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Onana (Ramsey 62), Kamara (Barkley 84); McGinn (Tielemans 62), Asensio (Olsen, 45+3), Rogers (Malen 84); Watkins.

Substitutes: Olsen, Digne, Andres Garcia, Mings, Bailey. 

Booked: Kamara 76, Rogers 80.

Red card: Martinez 45+1.