Villa finally ended 26 years of Old Trafford heartache as Gabby Agbonlahor’s strike earned them a stunning win over Manchester United.

Agbonlahor’s 21st-minute header proved the difference between the sides as Martin O’Neill’s men moved third in the Premier League and within five points of second-placed United.

It was their first Premier League win since 1995 against the Red Devils and was richly deserved after delivering another of their masterful counter-attacking displays.

O’Neill named the same side which defeated Hull last weekend with James Collins deemed fit enough to take his place on the bench.

It took United five minutes to carve the game’s first opening when Antonio Valencia stepped inside Stephen Warnock and squared to Wayne Rooney but the outstanding Richard Dunne came to the rescue with a superb block.

A minute later it opened up for Emile Heskey but he dragged his 20-yard shot well wide of the post.

Rooney was a constant menace and he and Giggs played a neat interchange of passes around Carlos Cuellar before the England man delivered a dangerous ball to the back post only for Stephen Warnock to clear for a corner.

Yet it was Villa who forged ahead via Agbonlahor when he got in between Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic to head home Ashley Young’s inviting left-wing cross.

There was controversy in the 24th minute when Rooney went down inside the box looking for a penalty only to be booked for diving. Replays confirmed referee Martin Atkinson was spot on with the decision.

The tremendous work rate of Agbonlahor almost earned Villa a second when he dispossessed Darren Fletcher on the edge of his own area to go clean through but he elected to pass rather than shoot and United keeper Tomasz Kuszczak got a crucial finger on his lay-off to Ashley Young.

Rooney came within a whisker of levelling when his close-range effort cannoned off the underside of the bar and bounced out while United fans thought Giggs had the ball in the net on 40 only for the Welshman to have hit the side netting.

Sir Alex Ferguson brought on Michael Owen on resumption in a bid to change his team’s fortunes while Villa were forced into a substitution of their own when Warnock hobbled off to be replaced by Collins.

Stubborn Villa continued to stifle the champions and Dimitar Berbatov and Darron Gibson were thrown on in the final stages.

It took another stunning block, this time from Carlos Cuellar, to deny Rooney but down the other end Villa still looked capable of nicking another goal.

Vidic failed to deal with James Collins’ measured ball over the top but Heskey was unable to squeeze his effort inside the far post from a narrow angle.

United threw everything at O’Neill’s men in the closing stages but again they majestically held firm, Stewart Downing clearing a Vidic header off the line and Brad Friedel tipping a Berbatov shot past the post as they held on for a first victory on United soil since 1983.