United boss fears Young may find it hard to shake diver tag

The victory was ultimately emphatic as Manchester United moved a step closer to the Premier League title in a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa, although it was not without controversy as manager Alex Ferguson felt compelled to leap to the defence of his winger Ashley Young.

The victory was set in motion by a sixth-minute penalty from Wayne Rooney, awarded after Young won a hotly disputed decision after going down under pressure from Villa’s Ciaran Clark.

While television replays showed there was some contact between the players, pundits quickly pointed to the fact that Young seemed to “go looking” for the collision and fell down theatrically to convince referee Mark Halsey.