Bruno Fernandes scored the only goal of the game, six minutes before the half-time interval, after showing great persistence to net the rebound – from the tightest of angles – when Marcus Rashford saw a low shot across goal saved by Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

The Portuguese’s strike was helped in by a slight deflection, but it was just reward for a United performance which saw Erik ten Hag’s men breach the Villans’ offside trap at will, with Rashford, in particular, unfortunate not to score, having had a host of chances.

While Villa provided a threat at the other end, United were solid at the back for the most part, with the defensive axis of Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw at centre-back again impressing, helped by the midfield platform of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen.

But which of our Reds emerged top of our Man of the Match poll across ManUtd.com and the United App? Read on to find out…

Voters recognised the strength of our spine against Villa but it was match-winner Fernandes who came out on top of the voting in our poll.

Our Portuguese magnifico set the tone with a typically persistent display, this time deployed from a right-wing position, but that did not hamper his creative – or goalscoring – ability.

The Reds’ skipper on the day created openings for Eriksen and Rashford inside the opening quarter of an hour and had further efforts at goal saved, causing problems for opposition defender Alex Moreno, at left-back, all afternoon.

Bruno earned 44 per cent of the voting, and not far behind with 32 per cent of the share was Victor Lindelof, after another resolute defensive showing.

The Swede made a string of important interventions at the back, particularly in the second half, which included blocks to a Jacob Ramsey shot and, even more impressively late on, a header off the line to stop Douglas Luiz’s strike in its path, even if the offside flag did eventually go up.

Coming in third with 14 per cent of the votes was Casemiro – making his first Premier League start at Old Trafford since early March.

The Brazilian was a disruptive presence in a tight midfield, ensuring Villa often couldn’t break despite springing the offside trap on several occasions.

He also profited from the Villans’ high line by having the opportunity to display his range of passing, often picking out Rashford with some fine balls in behind.

Fernandes was a very worthy winner of the Man of the Match award, though – big congratulations to our no.8, after another standout display!

Click here to enter our competition to win a Bruno shirt.