Solskjaer, Larsson help Manchester United advance in FA Cup with 2-1 win

MANCHESTER, England: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Henrik Larsson helped Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-1 Sunday in the third round of the FA Cup.

Larsson, who is on loan at Man United, scored the first goal of the match in the 55th minute, but Milan Baros equalized in the 74th.

Solskjaer then sent a shot that went into the net off the body of Villa goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly in injury time.

Wayne Rooney set up both goals for United.

Man United, which leads the Premier League by six points, is also still in contention for the Champions League. The Red Devils won all three trophies in 1999.

"I think we deserved to win the game, because we made a host of chances," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "But you have to feel a bit for Villa, because they probably deserved a goal when they really started to become a threat to us."

Larsson, who is playing in England for 10 weeks while the Swedish league has its winter break, seemed to have no trouble settling in at Old Trafford.

The Swede linked up well with his teammates in the opening exchanges and piled pressure on the Villa goal with a succession of chances, including a header in the 15th and another shot five minutes later.

He scored early in the second half after Rooney set him up in the box.

"He can score in any league he chooses and he's gone and shown that," said Villa manager Martin O'Neill, who coached Larsson for four years at Celtic. "It's great news for Henrik and great news for Manchester United."

Villa could have equalized when Barry found Isaiah Osbourne in front of goal, but it was Baros that finally scored in the 73rd.

After United failed to clear a corner, a pass from Gary Cahill fell to the feet of Baros, who poked it past United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak from 10 meters (yards).

But Solskjaer, who replaced Larsson in the 79th, beat Kiraly at the near post after taking a pass from Rooney.

"When Ole gets in these positions you always expect him to hit the target," Ferguson said.

Villa captain Gareth Barry had his team's best chance of the first half in the 23rd minute, skimming a free kick over Kuszczak.

Rooney also had a chance, hitting a powerful shot from 20 meters (yards) in the 34th.

In the second half, a free kick from Ryan Giggs hit the crossbar and Cristiano Ronaldo hit the side netting in the 63rd.

The Associated Press