Talking points: Villa 3 United 1

Goals from Leon Bailey, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey condemned Erik ten Hag's side to a first defeat since our loss in the Manchester derby, with the Reds having pulled a goal back before the break, as Ramsey deflected Luke Shaw's goalbound effort into his own net.

Returning to action in the Carabao Cup on Thursday night against Unai Emery's men again, United will hope to bounce back before our final game ahead of the season pauses for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. 

Following our defeat, here are some of the main talking points that arose in the West Midlands...

EMERY'S WELCOME

New Aston Villa home boss Emery was greeted with a warm reception on his first game in charge, with the Spaniard having taken over from Steven Gerrard. The home side were galvanised by the new man's arrival and produced a much-improved display that yielded the three points. 

Having been previously with Arsenal, the 51-year-old will be keen to kick on following a more than impressive spell with Villarreal over in Spain most recently. Visible throughout the 90 minutes in the technical area, Emery enjoyed a perfect start to life in the Midlands on an awkward afternoon for the Reds.

MARTIAL BACK

Anthony Martial's appearance as a substitute should hopefully increase the options available to Ten Hag for the final week of the domestic campaign before the World Cup. The Frenchman popped up on the left and down the middle as United failed to eat into the two-goal deficit late on but the fact he returned after being absent since the win at Everton is certainly good news.

ANOTHER DOMESTIC BAN

Diogo Dalot is the latest Red to pick up a suspension for accumulating five yellow cards. The full-back follows Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes in being forced to miss a game and will now miss the final Premier League fixture before the break, at Fulham.

TRAVELLING SUPPORT IN FINE VOICE

Sporting flags of Sweden and Argentina, our ever-impressive away support were in fine voice throughout the contest, despite the result, urging United forward at every opportunity. With some having just returned from our previous encounter over in Spain, our fans were applauded for their efforts by the players following the full-time whistle, with appreciation stretching across both tiers of the away end, ahead of our next trip to Craven Cottage next weekend.

YOUNG'S RECEPTION

Ashley Young was given a warm ovation onto the pitch, following his introduction with just 12 minutes to go. The now 37-year-old spent nine years in Manchester and will be well remembered for his efforts, especially as club captain in the final year of his time in the north-west. In trying circumstances, there was still decent applause for Ashley in the West Midlands.

VILLA REUNION

With Sunday's opponents next to come on Thursday night at Old Trafford, Ten Hag's side have an instant chance to recover from this performance, by potentially booking our place in round four of the Carabao Cup. Having beaten Villa in the FA Cup last season in M16, a positive outcome would be just the tonic in advance of the trip to Craven Cottage.