Rooney at the double as United beat Villa 3-1

Wayne Rooney returned to form with a first-half double as Manchester United maintained their unbeaten Premier League record with a largely comfortable 3-1 win over Aston Villa. Darren Bent had given the visitors hope before a rare and spectacular strike from Nemanja Vidic confirmed the result.

Rooney drilled United ahead as early as the first minute.

The under-fire England man netted his third league goal of the season as he controlled Edwin van der Sar's long-range free-kick and turned a sublime shot home.

Rooney's early strike settled any pre-match nerves and United went onto dominate the opening half to the frustration of their Midlands opponents.

Pressure told on the stroke of half-time as the hosts doubled their lead. Rooney was on hand to turn home Nani's inswinging cross to the delight of the Old Trafford masses.

Villa found a way back into the game on 58 minutes, however. Sloppy marking allowed £24million frontman to score from close range and, suddenly, it was game on.

Sir Alex's men, however, refused to wilt and showed the sort of character so often associated with title-winning sides.

Rooney turned provider, finding Vidic with a lay-off. The towering Serbian curled home a fine finish as United rapped up maximum points and maintained their hugely enviable unbeaten top-flight record.

United return to action in Saturday's early evening kick-off at Wolverhampton.

Full Time – Manchester United 3-1 Aston Villa
Attendance – 75,256