Sir Alex: Just one of those days

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Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was magnanimous in defeat after Gabriel Agbonlahor struck in the first half to earn Aston Villa a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

United could have drawn level with Chelsea at the top of the table but instead suffered their fourth Premier League defeat of the season after falling behind to Agbonlahor's goal and then failing to break down a resolute Villa defence.

"Second half I think we deserved something," Ferguson told ESPN. "There wasn't much in it first half, they probably just shaded it and deserved the goal. Second half we pummelled them, had a lot of good chances and didn't get any. It's just one of those days it wasn't going in."

Ferguson was aggrieved, once again, at the lack of stoppage time and believes time-keeping should no longer be the referee's responsibility.

"You get to the point on adding time on, it should be taken out of the referee's hands," he said. "There were two stoppages of two minutes three seconds and we played three minutes (stoppage time)."

Ferguson does not believe the defeat, coming after Chelsea drew 3-3 with Everton this afternoon, hampers United's title chances too greatly. "It's not an easy league. I say that time and time again. If we get to January within touching distance of the leaders then we're in with a great chance."

Man of the match Gabriel Agbonlahor praised Aston Villa's team ethic as Martin O'Neill's side secured a 1-0 win over Manchester United in another intriguing twist to the Barclays Premier League title race.

Villa survived a late onslaught to claim their first Old Trafford win since 1983 and inflict United's fourth loss of the season. Villa are now in third, as they added the Red Devils to the scalps of Chelsea and Liverpool which have already been collected in another fine campaign.

"Previous seasons we've come here and gone in front they've come back and beaten us," Agbonlahor told ESPN. "We're keeping clean sheets, so it's down to the defence. We worked hard for each other out there, all 11 players defending for the team and got the result."

Martin O'Neill is determined not to let his Aston Villa players get carried away by their momentous victory.

"This win will give us a great deal of confidence but that could quickly be eroded at Sunderland on Tuesday,'' he said. "It is a really great win, and I am not trying to play it down, but the main thing is the players should be really delighted with their performances against sides that they normally find it hard against.

"If it has done nothing else it will stop people asking about our record here,'' added O'Neill, who also revealed Stephen Warnock is unlikely to be fit for Tuesday after suffering whiplash during a collision with Park Ji-sung.

Rock^Star SG

Never have man u ever lost 4 times befoe xmas and gone on to win the EPL.

Rooney9 SG

I have doubts on united winning a record 4th consecutive league title this year, esp with no ronaldo. now the defensive crisis is making the tasks ever more difficult. how to have consistency when the CB and RB is changed every week.

Rooney9 SG

Nemanja Vidic expressed his disappointment after United’s fourth league defeat of the season to Aston Villa meant they failed to capitalise on Chelsea’s slip-up earlier in the day.

The league leaders could only manage a draw at home to Everton, leaving them just three points in front of the Reds, but Gabby Agbonlahor’s first half header earned Villa a famous win at Old Trafford.

Vidic admits the champions missed a great opportunity to draw level at the top, and put United’s shortcomings down to a failure to take their chances.

“We are very disappointed. We had a game at home and the chance to share the first position with Chelsea but we didn’t take it," Vidic told MUTV.

“I think we did the best we could physically. We tried but I don't think we had the patience in the final third and we didn’t take our chances; that’s why we lost the game.”

The Serbian admitted the main difference between the two sides was Villa’s ruthlessness in taking the main opportunity that fell their way.

“I’m disappointed to concede because they didn’t have many chances but they took the best one they

had. That’s what football is all about, scoring the goals that win games. They did their job and I’m disappointed we didn’t take the three points," he added.
"After they scored they tried to defend and use the pace of Agbonlahor and Young on the counter-attack. They are a hard team to play against - they close you down and fight for every ball. They also have pace up front and in the end they go home happy."
Thankfully, the Reds only have to wait until Tuesday to play again and have a chance to put the defeat behind them with a victory against Wolves.

"This is our best chance to play well, score goals and bring the confidence back," insisted Vidic. "It’s important when you lose a game to have the next one quickly, so you can play better and fix what you did in the last match."

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Sir Alex Ferguson bemoaned United's luck in front of goal following the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa, but he was quick to praise the heroic efforts of the visitors' defence.

Gabriel Agbonlahor's first half header secured a first win for Villa at Old Trafford for 26 years. After a fairly even opening period, United bossed proceedings after the break but were unable to make their domination count.

"We were camped in their box for a lot of the second half and had some really good chances. We only needed to take one to get us back in the game and it might have changed from then on; it was just one of those days when it wouldn't go in," Sir Alex told MUTV.

"I think we deserved something from our second half showing. There wasn't much in it in the first half and there were chances at both ends. They probably just shaded it and deserved the goal. But we pummelled them after half-time and had a lot of good opportunities but didn't take any.

"Their defenders worked their socks off and they deserve full credit for that," he added. "They were closing down players, blocking shots... doing everything they could. It was a big strong effort by them."

The defeat was United's fourth of the campaign and a particularly frustrating one after the Reds had seen Chelsea drop two points earlier in the day at home to Everton.

"It's not an easy league. Teams will drop points - that's a fact of life," admitted the boss. "As I say time and time again though, if we're within touching distance of the leaders come January then we're in with a great chance.

"Hopefully we can put the Villa game behind us and get the result we need on Tuesday against Wolves."