Manchester United 3-1 Aston Villa

Ander Herrera has scored seven times for Manchester United since joining from Athletic Bilbao in a £29m transfer in June

• Herrera scores twice as Manchester United move up to third

• Rooney gets his 185th Premier League goal

• Benteke scores for Aston Villa, who remain 16th in the table

• United face Manchester City and Chelsea in next two games

Manchester United defeated Aston Villa to move above Manchester City and into third place in the Premier League.

Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan tipped over Marcos Rojo's powerful 25-yard effort, but was beaten by Ander Herrera's low shot after good work from Daley Blind.

Wayne Rooney added a second goal when he spun and fired into the top corner.

Villa's Christian Benteke pulled one back with a low strike before Herrera scored his second with a side-footed finish in injury-time to seal the win.

Louis van Gaal's side deserved the victory, their fifth in a row in the Premier League, after having 77% possession and restricting their opponents to only two shots on target.

However, Benteke's goal, which came within two minutes of Rooney's spectacular effort, gave the hosts a scare before Herrera's late goal secured the three points.

The result was enough to take United above bitter rivals Manchester City, although Manuel Pellegrini's team will go second if they beat Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday.

United are now eight points above fifth-placed Liverpool as they aim to return to the Champions League after a season without European football.

Van Gaal's side now face a vital spell with a home derby against Manchester City followed by a trip to leaders Chelsea.

Defeat for Villa sees them remain three points above the relegation zone with a crucial home game on Tuesday against fellow strugglers QPR.

United had to be patient in the first half against a well-organised Villa side before Herrera put them ahead two minutes before the break.

Ashley Young released the overlapping Blind and he pulled the ball back to the unmarked Spanish midfielder, who took a touch to set himself and drilled the ball past Guzan from 12 yards out.

Villa should have equalised when Jores Okore met Leandro Bacuna's flighted free-kick but glanced a header wide from eight yards.

That miss proved costly as Rooney, who had a first-half appeal for a penalty turned down after he had been challenged by Ciaran Clark, scored his sixth goal in his last eight United appearances.

Substitute Angel Di Maria played the ball into Rooney and the England captain did well to control the pass, spin and shoot past Guzan.

It looked like the game would be over as a contest but Villa responded when Joe Cole's corner - Villa's first - found its way to Benteke and the Belgian striker's shot squeezed underneath David De Gea.

That goal, only the fifth Villa have scored in the second half in 16 away league matches, was not the start of a fightback as Juan Mata played in Herrera who scored the third to seal the win.

Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood:

"I thought we stuck in there and were always in the game until the third goal killed us.

"But it was encouraging. They have given me everything and left nothing on the pitch, but Manchester United were too good for us."

On his side's match against QPR on Tuesday, Sherwood added: "It's a massive game for us. They got a win but we're hoping to have six points between us and them at the end of that match."

United's Ashley Young scored 39 goals in 193 games in a four-and-a-half-year spell at Aston Villa

Wayne Rooney has now got six goals from his last eight Manchester United appearances

Five of Ander Herrera's seven goals for Manchester United have come in 2015

Wayne Rooney has now scored 185 Premier League goals, only Andy Cole (187) and Alan Shearer (260) have scored more

Aston Villa have only scored 20 goals in the Premier League in 31 matches this season

It was the first time Ander Herrera had scored twice in the same match since joining Manchester United