Aston Villa journalist Ashley Preece said that a result like winning at Manchester United has been on the cards for Dean Smith's side following recent performances.

What happened against Manchester United?

12 years after Gabby Agbonlahor's first-half strike earned a 1-0 victory at the Theatre of Dreams, Villa were finally victorious at Old Trafford once again.

And whilst Bruno Fernandes' last-gasp penalty, which could have snatched a point, was the obvious talking point, it was a deserved three points for Smith's men, who had the better of the chances despite United's 28 shots on goal.

It looked like being a familiar story to the defeat at Chelsea earlier this month when Ollie Watkins and Matt Targett both missed golden opportunities to put Villa ahead.

However, they weren't to be denied on this occasion and won the game two minutes from time when Kortney Hause picked the perfect moment to score his first goal of the season with a thumping header past David de Gea.

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ENTER GIVEAWAY

It wasn't just a first Old Trafford victory since December 2009, but a real statement three points for Smith's side, who've been threatening to pull off a result of this magnitude for some time after so many near misses since their promotion back to the Premier League.

What did Preece say about the result?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "It's been coming really. Dean Smith said afterwards that the seeds of belief were growing at Chelsea a few weeks ago despite the scoreline, Villa played really well without getting a result."

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How did Villa do it?

Despite United having the chance to move top of the standings with three points in the early kick-off, they came into the game in uninspiring form.

They'd been fortunate to win at Wolves and West Ham already this season, whilst Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer's men had been unconvincing in their draw with Southampton.

United had hit Leeds for five and Newcastle for four but netted just five times across the other four matches. Villa, therefore, put in a dogged defensive performance, restricting the hosts to mainly shots from distance.

And despite missing chances of their own in an open first-half, caught them out with a sucker-punch late on to claim a famous three points.

Despite some disappointing results against Watford and Brentford, 10 points from six matches represents a good return for Villa, especially with Chelsea and Manchester United away already ticked off.