The starlet Mexican boy Hernandez is back and Manchester United came from behind once again,Brendan Rodgers Liverpool also had a draw with Chelsea.

Aston Villa 2 Manchester United 3: Javier Hernandez one man show broke Aston Villa heart

Seventeen years ago, Sir Alex Ferguson played five youngsters in the Premier League. Here he looked at an Aston Villa side with seven players under 23 and told Paul Lambert he might just have a mine full of gold.

Aston Villa lost to United, they always do – something Ladbrokes, who took a £1 million hit on United’s comeback from two goals down, should have researched.
But Ferguson was impressed.

“I just spoke to him,” said Villa boss Lambert.
“He has done that to other teams and managers – come back and won. But Sir Alex was really complimentary. If anyone can spot players, it’s him.

“The big thing was we worked our backsides off to give a performance and he said, ‘That’s what you get if you put the effort in. You keep playing that way and you’ll win more games than not’.”

David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers all played for Manchester  United against Aston Villa on the opening day of the 1995-96 season – and lost 3-1.

Villa have not beaten United at home in the league since.

Beckham became a superstar, Butt and the Nevilles have had superb careers and Scholes, 38 on Friday, is still playing for United and was magnificent here.

Andreas Weimann, a 21-year-old Austrian, put Villa two up in 50 minutes. And if he had completed a hat-trick with a second-half header, United might not have completed another revival.

At a rough guess, only Audley Harrison has had more comebacks than United. Ten times out of 17 games this season they have been behind and fought back to win.

You do not stand over United and start counting them out. Javier Hernandez, with two goals and another he forced in off centre-half Ron Vlaar, broke young Villa hearts.

Robin van Persie also hit the Villa crossbar with a header and a 30-yard drive.

United are clocking up the goals and it made for compulsive viewing. But it does make you wonder if they can keep playing goals roulette.

In the absence of United putting up any player to speak to the written press and Ferguson, as he has been allowed to get away with for years, not talking to the newspapers – all of which paints a poor picture of one of the world’s great clubs – we need to go back to what Wayne Rooney said after the comeback Champions League win last week in Braga: “We need to be more solid as a team and make sure we get the first goal and we can kick on from there.

“Or, if we have the lead, try to hold on to it.”

Basic but true.

United have not drawn a game all season. It is win or bust. Mostly win, but the odd bust like 5-4 at Chelsea in the Capital One Cup, 3-2 at home to Spurs in the league and that 1-0 loss at Everton in the first match of the season. But when United lose on the opening day they go on to win the league, like at Villa in 1995, when Alan ‘You win nothing with kids’ Hansen had to eat his humble pie.

Villa now play the champions Manchester City on Saturday and then those who used to be champions, Arsenal, after that.

There will probably be some satisfaction in defeat from those games, but what they must do is take this level of performance into successive fixtures against Reading, QPR and Stoke – and win. That is where Villa’s immediate future is, bedding down these boys in a big, new world.

“I’m proud of them, what they’ve done, a young team growing up. They’ll take a bit of belief from it,” said Lambert.

“Manchester United are used to that [coming back to win]. I can’t ask for any more from my players for what they’ve given me.

“Playing youngsters is just my way and hopefully it will work. If they keep showing that enthusiasm and hunger for the game, they’ll be fine.

“They had the crowd’s reaction – the crowd’s always your marker, if they get behind you then the club will be fine.

“People thought United would roll us over pretty easily, but we gave it a right good go.”

Aston Villa (4-4-1-1): Guzan 6; Lowton 6, Vlaar 8, Clark 6, Stevens 7; Weimann 8 (Holman 80), Westwood 6, Bannan 7 (Delph 87), Agbonlahor 7; Ireland 8 (El Ahmadi 79, 5); Benteke 8. Booked: Ireland. Goals: Weimann 45, 50.

Manchester United (4-4-2): De Gea 6; Rafael 6, Smalling 6, Ferdinand 6, Evra 6; Valencia 6, Carrick 7, Scholes 8 (Cleverley 71, 5), Young 6 (Hernandez 46, 8); Van Persie 7, Rooney 7 (Anderson 79, 5). Booked: Carrick. Goals: Hernandez 58, 87, Vlaar 63 og.

Referee: K Friend (Leicestershire)

Watch Aston Villa vs Manchester United match video:

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1 : Chelsea lost John Terry  but Liverpool lost sense of  winning

This frustrating stalemate made it three games without a win in the league for Roberto Di Matteo’s men. It is hardly a crisis as yet, with only three points separating Chelsea from league leaders Manchester United and only one defeat from their first 11 games – but it is a trend the Italian will want to put a stop to pretty quickly.

Three of the Italian’s predecessors – Luiz Felipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti and Andre Villas-Boas – all eventually fell victim to the winter blues.

A couple of setbacks led to a slump the team could not get out of – and in two of the above scenarios, the man in charge did not last the season as Roman Abramovich’s patience ran out. It is odd as well how often Liverpool crop up to throw a spanner in the Chelsea works at this time of year. No matter in what state the Anfield club are, they always seem to raise their game against the Londoners.

They actually went into this game having won their last four in the league against Chelsea. The Blues dominated the first half of this tight contest and should have punished Liverpool by more than John Terry’s thumping header.

But they were caught by who other than Luis Suarez, who escaped his marker to head home the equaliser.

Liverpool could even have won the game had Petr Cech not made a fine late save from Jose Enrique.

In 2008-09, Chelsea won just five of 15 games under Scolari as November dawned. They never recovered and he was out of a job by February.

Ancelotti, having just won the Double, saw his team win three out of 13 in the same period. He lasted to the end of the season before the axe fell.

Villas-Boas last year won just five out of 16. His team never recovered and he was gone by March.

It is as if, when the squirrels go into hibernation, so do some of Chelsea’s players.

We are not quite there yet with this remodelled, rebuilt and so far very exciting young Chelsea. But it is now two points taken in the league out of a possible nine and United have opened up a gap at the top. Of course, Di Matteo could point to the fact that his team have interspersed this wobbly run in the league by steadying the ship in the Champions League and knocking United out of the Capital One Cup. It is not all doom and gloom.

Chelsea now face West Brom, Manchester City, Fulham and West Ham – a tricky set of fixtures.

They need to find their mojo fast – and will have to do it without skipper Terry, who will find out today how bad the knee ligament injury is that forced him out of the game in the 38th minute. He has a scan today, but it is likely to be a minimum of three months.

Of course, in his first game back after his ban, it had to be Terry who gave Chelsea the lead. He rose, criminally unmarked, to head home as Di Matteo’s team ran the game. Terry did not last much longer before his collision with Suarez led to him being carried off on a stretcher.

But after Mata, Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres all missed chances, Anfield manager Brendan Rodgers organised the fightback. He reorganised his team, switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation – and suddenly Liverpool were alive.

In the 73rd minute Suso’s corner was flicked on by the ageless Jamie Carragher – and there was Suarez to head powerfully into the net.

How Chelsea, for all their frills and flair, could do with a Suarez at the sharp end. He has 32 goals in 68 games. Torres, the £50 million man who signed from Liverpool and was substituted yet again, has 18 in 84.

The nights are drawing in, Robbie. You need to get the heaters under your team.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 7; Azpilicueta 6, Ivanovic 7, Terry 6 (Cahill 38, 6), Bertrand 6; Ramires 7, Mikel 6; Mata 7, Oscar 6, Hazard 6; Torres 6 (Sturridge 82, 6). Booked: Allen, Johnson, Gerrard. Goal: Terry 20.

Liverpool (3-5-2): Jones 7; Wisdom 7, Carragher 8, Agger 7; Johnson 7, Sahin 6 (Suso 60, 6), Gerrard 7, Allen 6, Enrique 6; Suarez 7, Sterling 6. Booked: Mikel. Goal: Suarez 73.

Referee: Howard Webb (South Yorkshire)

Watch Liverpool vs Chelsea match video:

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Barclays Premier League game week 11 other Results

Reading 0 – 0 Norwich City

Everton 2 – 1 Sunderland

Stoke City 1 – 0 Queens Park Rangers

Wigan Athletic 1 – 2 West Bromwich Albion

Arsenal 3 – 3 Fulham

Southampton 1 – 1 Swansea City

Manchester City 2 – 1 Tottenham Hotspur

Newcastle United 0 – 1 West Ham United

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