VILLA gave us far, far more than we dared to expect - 90 minutes to remember in our dreams. And the Coca-Cola League Cup in front of an enraptured Wembley crowd.

The margin may have flattered them but the performance was of a scale that will stand proud in their illustrious history.

United, ancient and honoured foes, a team experts have been toting as comparable with Busby's greatest, were at first controlled, then subdued by Villa's dedication to manager Ron Atkinson's masterplan.

Possibly Alex Ferguson's men had the Treble trembles, but that wasn't how it looked to the thousands who roared Villa to their best win since Inter Milan were whipped in Birmingham.

It was epic in its power to astonish - an intelligence game that could have been scripted by Le Carre, a, thriller from Forsyth and a spectacle out of Spielberg.

United were embarking on the first of five matches which would probably determined whether they were to secure the first Treble.

Yet, from the kick-off Villa were their equals or more in commitment and relatively close to them in the skills that have earmarked them as potential European contenders.

Bear in mind that for their three previous matches, Villa had not looked as if they could beat Carshalton United, and the scene was set for a classic piece of underdoggery.

And if it was not a complete revenge for last season's championship result, it was enough of one to give the champagne bubbles an extra kick last night.

Skipper Kevin Richardson was chosen as official man of the match but he and everyone else among the 77,231 spectators who filled Wembley with all the colour and passion needed to complete a great occasion would agree that Villa had another ten marvellous men out there.

We suspected they would raise their game to suit the stage but how high we could have no idea.

Shaun Teale was a powerfully charismatic figure alongside the splendid Paul McGrath In the thick of defence; Richardson and Andy Townsend locked up the area in front of them and the full-backs were so effective that Ryan Giggs came off after an hour, but it might have been Andrei Kanchelskis.

Then there were the goalecorers, Dean Saunders, twice, and Dalian Atkinson, while Tony Daley made Tommy Docherty's prematch rating of 5 out of 10 a seriously embarrassing piece of football judgment. Daley was the game's outstanding paceman.

All of which omits Graham Fenton, 19 year old crop haired Geordie, whose intensity of concentration was translated into non stop running as Saunders’ support.

He was the stroke Ron Atkinson pulled.

United manager Alex Ferguson might, like many of us, have suspected Villa would man-mark Eric Cantona or Giggs or maybe mass in front of their penalty area.

But in releasing Fenton to attack freely, he created a surprise channel from a five man midfield and took the pressure of close marking from Dalian Atkinson.

The truth was that Dalian looked slightly bemused by this role until a revelation came 25 minutes into a game that United were just beginning to probe menacingly.

Then Townsend struck a straight pass which Saunders flicked almost nonchalantly towards Atkinson whose run from the right had not been covered. Atkinson took one touch to control and nudged the ball wide of Les Sealey with the outside of his right shin.

A Staunton inswinging corner which caused the United goalkeeper to make a late and desperate lunge was Villa's only other serious Incursion into the United area in the first half.

Territorially, United secured a massive advantage. They played prettily in areas where there was no pain for Villa who must have been happy to admire Cantona's sumptuous Gallic flair out of range of goal.

Mark Bosnich once swatted away a Roy Keane header but two minutes later, the Australian goalkeeper was again the subject of speculation as to whether he had committed a professional foul.

Denis Irwin chipped over Villa’s defence and as Keane moved right he crashed into the goalkeeper. Bosnich had stepped into his party, and taking a lenient view, this might not have been deliberate.

The important man, referee Cooper thought not, anyway. Perhaps, like the referee in the second leg of the semi-final against Tranmere, he was working to a version of Australian Rules. Bosnich escaped a sending off then - yesterday, Cooper waved play on.

Villa continued to defend superbly but may have been fortunate again when Earl Barrett grounded Gary Pallister inside the area in the 43rd minute.

The referee awarded a free kick just outside the area where, clearly, If an offence had been committed it was inside.

However, Pallister had run across the tackle and was the author of his own fall.

Both teams sparred in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. Ferguson on the touchline impatiently urging Cantona and his colleagues to employ forward positions.

Villa, however, appeared to have taken an unbreakable grip when Richardson moved Staunton's free-kick into Saunders's path. The centre-forward succeeded in diverting the ball as Mark Hughes had not 62 minutes earlier from the same spot past Sealey with one delicate turn of his left foot.

Fifteen minutes to go and the League Cup seemed to be in Villa's hands. Then, with seven minutes to go, Hughes stunned a Keane shot, turned and thrust the ball wide of Bosnich.

For the first time, the United horde scented claret-and-blue anxiety and, outshouting Villa's 35,000 for the only time, they almost urged an equaliser for Hughes who brought Bosnich pouncing to his left for a save that led to the eighth of nine United second half corners.

United's urgent demands were bound to thin their defensive and when a 90th minute break-out came, Saunders rolled the ball to Daley whose shot hit a post, rebounding to Atkinson.

His shot was instinctively handled by Kanchelskis whose punishment was a penalty and dismissal, United's third in three games.

It seemed a harsh decision in the light of a fine and sporting match, Saunders drilled the ball straight while Sealey hurtled left. That was 3-1 and the final signal for an evening of entertainment.

As it also booked a place in the UEFA Cup and the possibility of an attendant fortune, Villa will rightly feel that 90 minutes of excellence has alleviated an otherwise disappointing season.