Emery has spoken of his desire to win a trophy and bring Villa back into the European competition and this enlightening evisceration of Manchester United marked an impressive start to life for the Spaniard at Villa Park. Goals from the excellent Leon Bailey, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey led Villa to victory over United, who succumbed to their second league defeat since August. At the end the Villa fans at the Holte End were asking Emery to give them a nod and Cristiano Ronaldo, wearing the captain’s armband for United, was throwing his arm down in a haze of frustration. Ronaldo’s most memorable contribution was his second-half taunt on Tyrone Mings, which led to the assistant referee clearing the striker for violent conduct. Emery’s early assessment when taking charge was of a team lacking confidence, but the way Villa moved the ball almost married the idea of a team lacking belief. How the Villa fans were delighted to see their team express themselves as they beat United here in the league for the first time since 1995. It was an afternoon of great pleasure, from Ollie Watkins’ purposeful running and intricate passing in midfield to the sight of goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez performing his own version of the keepie-uppies, twice heading a ball that bounced wide of his box. midway through the first half. Then there was the Bailey fleet. Villa appeared liberated, none more so than Bailly, Ramsey and Watkins, who joined for their first game. Watkins did brilliantly in the rally to keep Victor Lindelof at arm’s length and after being forced into the pitch he picked out Ramsey, who pushed the ball to Bailly. From there Bailey’s first touch allowed him to motor past Lisandro Martínez and with his second he sent a left-footed cross across goal and into the corner. Emery has set his coaching staff and substitutes high. Steven Gerrard’s signing Philippe Coutinho has been completely left out of Villa’s squad. Unai Emery shows his joy after Jacob Ramsey made it 3-1 for his new club. Photo: Carl Recine/Reuters Villa were rampant, United were trembling. Luke Shaw’s crude challenge on Ramsey, just as the Villa academy graduate was scheduled to run into the United area, earned the England defender a booking and Villa a foul 22 yards from goal. Emiliano Martínez, who was again captaining Villa, made it into the United half to choreograph the set-piece, shouting instructions to his team-mates. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The only one who didn’t need to be told what to do was Digne, who sneaked a superb, curling left-footed shot inside David de Gea’s left-hand post, brushing the keeper’s fingers before slotting home. With 16 minutes on the clock, Matty Cash played Bailey in on the right and the Jamaican cut the ball back for Emiliano Buendía, who fired a shot just wide. Emery was pouncing on the touchline as Villa looked for a third. Erik ten Haag, meanwhile, stood sternly, arms folded. United struck just before the break, with Martinez making two smart saves in quick succession, first to deny Alejandro Garnazzo on his first Premier League start with his left hand and then Ronaldo with his right boot. But United were fortunate to strike before the interval when Shaw’s shot from the edge of the box, more in anger than anything else, took a poor deflection off the back of Ramsey, tripping Martínez as it circled into the far corner. Bailly started the second half as he did the first and got a shot into De Gea’s midfield inside the opening seconds. Villa was dangerous in attack and bad in defence, with Mings. Minutes later De Gea was again picking the ball out of his own net as Villa beat the visitors again. Buendía grabbed Lisandro Martinez’s header on the halfway line and released Watkins on the left. Watkins, among Gareth Southgate’s impressive World Cup selections, then cut the ball back for an unmarked Ramsey, who swept the ball into the top corner.
