Aston Villa stun Man United 3-1 as Newcastle go third

Unai Emery returned English Premier League on Sunday as manager of Aston Villa with an emphatic 3-1 victory against Manchester United.

United are now three points off the top four after Newcastle continued their fine form with a 4-1 win at Southampton to go third.

Prior to the match, Villa were without a win at home against Manchester United since 1995.

All that seemed likely to be changed when they went 2-0 up within 11 minutes of play.

Leon Bailey broke the deadlock in the seventh minute with a low shot that beat David de Gea in goal for Man United.

Building on that momentum, former Barcelona defender, Lucas Digne curled in a brilliant free-kick from 25 yards three minutes later to send wild jubilation across Villa Park.

Manchester United players were shocked at the early turn of events as they plunged ahead to salvage dignity from the game.

They eventually struck luck when Luke Shaw’s shot, on the stroke of halftime, took a big deflection off Jacob Ramsey to land in the back of the net, with Martinez unable to react.

However, Ramsey responded perfectly to his own goal as he latched onto Ollie Watkins’ ball and powered a shot beyond De Gea.

United launched several attacks to crawl their way back but resolute Villa with a boisterous crowd behind them ensured it was a memorable debut to remember for Emery.

The win takes Aston Villa up to 13th, three points above the relegation zone, while Manchester United remain fifth.