Man United vs Aston Villa player ratings: McTominay 7, Rashford 5; Mings 7, Watkins 8

McTominay's early strike enough to earn United a fourth-round FA Cup match against Middlesbrough

MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea 7. Saved well with his right hand from the excellent McGinn as Villa kept him busy and his United side had just 39% of possession. Kept only a second clean sheet in United’s last 19 home games. Reuters

Luke Shaw 6. Strong in the first half. Heavy tackle after Watkins hit the post, then made a brilliant strike on 37 minutes. Yellow card as he blocked Ramsey and another Villa attack. AP Photo

Victor Lindelof 6. Back after going off in a game with breathing difficulties five weeks ago. Terrible touch set up Watkins on 30 minutes, with the Swede let off big time after he was then beaten by Watkins. Steadied in the second, even if his team didn’t. PA

Raphael Varane 7. Best United defender with decent positioning amid the chaos, but still cleared a ball towards Cash as Villa chased an equaliser. Who is going to be his regular partner? Getty Images

Diogo Dalot 6. Ankle was heavily cut after a first half chance. Booked after 69 minutes as Villa pushed and pushed for an equaliser. Better in the second half. PA

Scott McTominay 7. Fifth-minute shot was United’s first on target, then got between defenders to head his side ahead three minutes later. Busy in the middle and the best player in the first half. Got in front of a 31st minute shot and hit a sweet strike of his own on 44 minutes – he’s definitely shooting more. Man of the match. EPA

Fred 6. Back in the side and set up McTominay with a curling cross for United’s first, then saw Buendia run past him to create a Villa chance on 13 minutes and thrice culpable in the first half as Villa has several chances – as they did in the second. United’s midfield far from dominant. EPA

Mason Greenwood 5. Took players on from the right in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Passed ball to Fred to set up opener. Hit and miss. Ran at goal but shot when Rashford was waiting for the ball. Took several shots which went straight at Villa’s goalkeeper. EPA

Bruno Fernandes 5. Tried but struggled in the first half, though he hit a 38th minute shot on target against the run of play. Shot miles over when set up by Cavani. Super ball to Rashford (one of three which he hooked forward) on 47 minutes, but still lost possession too easily. EPA

Marcus Rashford 5. Initially better wide out left, both individually and for the team. Lively start after a run of poor form, but then failed to convince. Went for goal on 47 minutes after a run. Paused when a Greenwood shot was saved rather than following it up for a potential rebound. Looks thoroughly miserable. EPA

Edinson Cavani 6. Shot on target after Fernandes set him up on 27 minutes. Some lovely control. Set up Fernandes on 44 minutes. Blocked by Ramsey – which meant a Villa equaliser was disallowed. Reuters

SUB: Donny Van de Beek 5. On for Cavani after 71. Busied himself. Reuters

SUB: Jesse Lingard N/A. On for Fernandes after 85. Lively. Getty Images

SUB: Anthony Elanga N/A. On for Rashford after 85. Used his pace to take on Cash to a big roar from the crowd unnerved by how ropey United often look at home. EPA

ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez 7 – Good reactions to make a couple of straightforward saves, but the Argentine was largely untroubled and cannot be faulted for conceding, standing no chance against McTominay’s winner. EPA

Matty Cash 6 – Worked hard in defence and attack but looked tired in the latter stages of the game. Provided two vital interventions in the first half including a clearance off the line to deny United a second. AFP

Ezri Konsa 7 – Plenty of energy in defence and attack. Provided a perfectly weighted header to assist Ings’ goal that was chalked-off. A remarkable run from the centre-back was followed by a less than convincing shot straight at De Gea after 64 minutes. PA

Tyrone Mings 7 – A strong performance from the centre-back who provided much-needed physicality and strong tackles. Failed to track McTominay as he headed home the winner. PA

Matt Targett 6 – A solid display marked by good attacking play down the left, but the full-back had moments where he struggled against the pace of Greenwood. Getty Images

Douglas Luiz 6 – Pressed well in the middle but the Brazilian was arguably at fault for some loose passing, unnecessarily gifting the ball to a largely unthreatening United. Reuters

John McGinn 8 – As usual the Scot battled hard for his team, and he looked to frustrate United in the middle of the park. After creating space for himself outside the box, he had a powerful shot blocked by De Gea after 19 minutes. Getty Images

Jacob Ramsey 7 – The 20-year-old looked particularly dangerous after the break and his direct running troubled the United defence before being substituted after 86 minutes. EPA

Emiliano Buendia 7 – Showed his quality with quick feet and superb skill. The Argentine looked busy and tried to make things happen for his side until he was replaced at 79 minutes. Getty Images

Danny Ings 8 – Showed tireless and selfless work in attack. Almost rewarded for his positioning with an equaliser off his thigh at the hour mark but was denied by VAR. EPA

Ollie Watkins 8 – A very lively performance from the forward who looked dangerous all night. He came close twice in the first half and was unlucky to be denied by the crossbar after 30 minutes. Reuters

SUB: Anwar El Ghazi (Buendia, 79) N/A – Could only contribute a wayward shot in added time. Getty Images

SUB: Jaden Philogene-Bidace (Ramsey, 86) N/A – Could not make an impact in the final minutes with the game out of reach. Getty Images

An early headed goal by Scott McTominay proved decisive for Manchester United as they held on by the skin of their teeth to beat Aston Villa 1-0 in an absorbing FA Cup third round tie at Old Trafford on Monday.

While victory was a welcome relief for United manager Ralf Rangnick, it was a performance that showed just how much work he has to do if United are to challenge for silverware.

Villa will wonder how they bowed of the competition after responding to McTominay's eighth-minute opener with a dominant display, striking the woodwork twice, forcing David de Gea into several saves and having two goals disallowed.

McTominay glanced in Fred's curling delivery to give the hosts a flying start, but from then on they struggled to contain a lively Villa side who played the better football.

The reward for 12-time FA Cup champions United is a home draw against second-tier Middlesbrough.