Ashley Young keeps Manchester United tumbling towards Premier League title with win over Aston Villa I think it was a dramatic fall and he overdid the fall, but it was a penalty and there is no doubt about that. I don't think they can have any complaints. Ferguson admitted his concerns, however, that Young may now be in danger of earning a reputation for "going down too easily." Yes, in that situation, in the last week or two, yes. I've never seen that in him, it's not a habitual thing in him. He was brought down, he just made the most of it. Villa manager Alex McLeish, whose team remain anxiously close to the relegation zone after this defeat, was cutting when asked about Young's involvement in the incident. "It was a soft penalty," McLeish said. Ciaran tried to pull his leg away and Ashley Young threw his leg at him. Some other people will look at it and disagree, but I felt it was a soft decision. During his early days at United, Cristiano Ronaldo was warned by Ferguson and senior team-mates to cut out the diving and theatrics which stained his formative years at Old Trafford. Whether Young receives the same advice in the heat of the title battle is another matter, but certainly, for the third successive home game, United have benefited from the rub of the green when it comes to key decisions. As the final scoreline suggests, however, United were not solely reliant on Young's penalty-winning talents to restore their five-point lead over City at the top of the table. Wayne Rooney's 30th and 31st goals of the season, a far post effort by Danny Welbeck and an injury-time strike by substitute Nani, secured a comprehensive victory, orchestrated by the midfield pair of Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes, which leaves United within touching distance of the title. But just as against QPR last Sunday, the early penalty against Villa calmed a potentially nervy afternoon in the wake of the midweek defeat at Wigan and City's rampant 6-1 win at Norwich on Saturday. So it was a pivotal moment, the launch pad for United's seventh successive home victory in the league, and one which ensures that Young will claim the headlines for the wrong reasons. United needed Young's intervention, however, judging by the way they toiled before scoring a second goal through Welbeck on 43 minutes. Rooney might have broken the 30-goal barrier, but even Ferguson admitted that the 26-year-old was searching for form after another unimpressive performance saw him substituted in the second-half. "He was careless," Ferguson said. Wayne has to play on the edge of a game, when it is really close and competitive. When the game gets to that casual bit, he is worse than the rest of them. He gets really casual about it. It is better when he is on the edge, then he is a marvellous player. Ferguson's team dominated possession and created chances, but their build-up play was increasingly predictable, with Scholes and Carrick directing balls to the flanks rather than attempting to pierce Villa's congested defence through the centre. Until Evra crossed for Welbeck to slide in at the far post two minutes before half-time, the spectre of a breakaway goal by Villa always loomed. But at 2-0, United were able to look towards adding to the scoreline and reducing City's goal difference advantage, which stood at eight goals prior to kick-off. Rooney claimed United's third on 73 minutes, moments before being replaced by Dimitar Berbatov, when he finished off a one-two with Antonio Valencia and Nani sealed his return from injury with a crisp far post finish two minutes into stoppage time. United's supporters, sensing that the finish line might appear at the Etihad on April 30, chanted about winning the league at "City's council house" - a disparaging dig at their council-owned stadium. But despite the obvious target of winning the title in their neighbours" backyard, Ferguson insists that he will remain wary until the trophy is won. He said: "There could be twists and turns yet, but the name of the game now is for us to go and enjoy ourselves. You can never be too confident in this game because my experience tells you that something can always come and bite you on the bum. Hopefully we can avoid that.