Manchester United kickstarted 2021 in style after a customary penalty from Bruno Fernandes condemned Aston Villa to a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford on Friday night.

The gruelling encounter was United's first game to mark the new year and looked like it would end all square with the two sides coming close to scoring on multiple occasions.

But the Red Devils grit their teeth, dug deep and eked out a victory over Villa behind closed doors at the empty stadium, with Fernandes picking up where he left off last year with his 15th goal in 24 appearances across all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

However, this doesn't mean that some of the defensive displays should go unnoticed, none more so than Aaron Wan-Bissaka. We must reserve a special mention for Anthony Martial, who was equally impressive, but Wan-Bissaka was in imperious form after a somewhat shaky start to the season.

The 23-year-old, who earns around £90,000-per-week at Old Trafford, has often been criticised for his perceived lack of creativity in the final third. Against Villa, the defender defied the critics, as the full-back was a real threat bombing up and down the right flank. He picked up the assist for Anthony Martial's opener but his attacking output didn't stop there, either, as this was just one of two key passes he produced last night.

As per SofaScore, his performance was graded at 7.9 out of ten for his efforts - the highest rating out of any other player on the pitch including Fernandes and Jack Grealish - he made four tackles, also a game-high metric, two interceptions, two clearances and blocked one shot.