Stiliyan Petrov has called for Villa to learn important lessons after the defeat to Manchester United.

Our Bulgarian midfielder believes top sides find what they need to win games - even when they are playing below-par.

And Petrov hopes this is a trait Villa will uncover in the coming seasons.

He said: "We should take heart from the fact we kept Manchester United quiet for 75 minutes.

"We may not have had as many chances as them but I thought we competed well and certainly didn't deserve to lose the match.

"But that's when the big teams show their quality and strength. When things aren't looking great, they find what they need. They had half a chance and scored - which probably settled their nerves - and then scored again.

"We keep drawing Manchester United in the Cup which doesn't help. But we must learn how to beat these teams.

"If we want to do something in the Premier League or in the FA Cup, we need to start keeping clean sheets against these top sides and then taking our chances at the other end.

"I had a chance in the first half - it was close. But we had several good positions on the ball. Maybe we could link better or improve our delivery. We need to use the ball better and take chances - even half-chances."

Petrov was also full of praise of the man who turned the game, Wayne Rooney.

"Rooney is a class player, everybody knows that! You can see his quality - the way he passes, links play, moves. He made a big difference and scored a good goal."