By GRAEME BRYCE
JAVIER HERNANDEZ answered Alex Ferguson’s SOS to salvage three crucial points for United.
Fergie’s men looked dead and buried when a double from Andreas Weimann — either side of half-time — put the hosts two up.
But, once again, Fergie played his ace in the pack — sending on Hernandez for Ashley Young at half-time — and the little Mexican again came up trumps.
Chicharito hauled United back into the game on 58 minutes when he bundled his shot past Brad Guzan.
Five minutes later he forced Ron Vlaar to deflect his shot into his own net before finally gunning down valiant Villa with a diving header two minutes from time.
That goal sent United four points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table and five clear of rivals Manchester City.
How United need their little hitman on a day when it all seemed to be going wrong.
There were little personal duels going on all over the park and for almost an hour it was Villa’s kids who were winning the majority of them.
On a day when Villa Park paid tribute to the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield, boss Paul Lambert discovered more than a few heroes of his own who were prepared to give their all.
Left-backs rarely grab games by the scruff of the neck but Enda Stevens summed up the grit and determination in Villa’s ranks.
The Dubliner, 22, only cost £250,000 from Shamrock Rovers in January and this was his Premier League debut.
But he stuck to Antonio Valencia like a leech and gradually sucked the life out of the £16million Ecuadorian.
On the opposite flank, Matt Lowton won his individual war with Young, who was subbed at half-time, to the delight of Villa fans, who booed their figure of hate throughout.
In the heart of defence, “Concrete Ron” Vlaar cemented fellow Dutchman Robin van Persie with a few well-timed tackles and never budged an inch.
Eventually United’s star striker dropped so deep you wondered if he was under orders to help Rio Ferdinand and Chris Smalling! God knows, they needed it.
Because up front a one-man Belgian battering ram called Christian Benteke was running riot. The £7million signing from Genk reminds you of Mike Tyson in his heyday.
Benteke roughed up Ferdinand and smashed Smalling until United’s stars looked set to throw in the towel.
The 21-year-old still has a few rough edges but he is already a cult figure with Villa fans. It was his determination which led to the opener on the stroke of half-time.
Smalling seemed content to let the ball roll out for a throw on the touchline but Benteke had other ideas as he chased down a seemingly lost cause.
Benteke simply body-slammed Smalling to the turf. Then, while United waited for a whistle which never came, he slid the ball back to the edge of the box.
With United’s defence spread-eagled, Weimann burst in to slam his shot high beyond David De Gea for his first goal of the season.
De Gea appeared to be unsighted by Gabby Agbonlahor, who was surely interfering with play, but Villa deserved any break coming their way and United seemed too stunned to protest.
It was to get worse for Fergie’s men before it got better.
Because Villa promptly came out after the break and really annoyed United by going 2-0 up.
Again it was handy Andi who had Villa Park rocking when he struck again in the 50th minute.
Benteke caught out United with a cute dummy as he allowed the ball to roll through his legs to Stephen Ireland, who quickly shifted the ball to Agbonlahor.
The Villa forward drilled in a perfect low cross and Weimann timed his run to perfection to knock the ball into the empty net.
What Lambert needed now was cool heads and for his kids to kill the game for 10 minutes or so.
They managed to get through eight of them before United hit back. Paul Scholes found his range with a stunning through ball — and Hernandez was off like a whippet.
As Ciaran Clark tried in vain to recover lost ground, the little Mexican showed him a clean pair of heels before sliding the ball through Guzan’s legs as the keeper advanced.
United’s tails were up but they had to rely on De Gea to produce a crucial save after 61 minutes to deny Weimann his hat-trick.
The Austrian’s header from 10 yards appeared to be heading for the far corner but the Spaniard dived to his left to push it away.
Having survived that drama, United promptly drew level two minutes later as Concrete Ron finally crumbled.
Rafael dug out a cross on the right, Hernandez fired it across the face of goal and the ball deflected off the Dutchman’s hip and flew past Guzan.
Hernandez wanted to claim it but his shot was not going in and poor Ron was credited with an unfortunate own goal.
Suddenly United were pouring forward menacingly.
Rooney had a shot well saved by Guzan. Then Van Persie smacked the crossbar twice in the space of a minute.
But try as they might, Villa could not hold on for a point.
With two minutes remaining, Hernandez wrapped up an amazing comeback as United snatched a late win.
Van Persie sent in a free kick to the back post and the little striker wriggled clear of Stevens and beat Guzan with a diving header to crush valiant Villa.
