Aston Villa 1 Man Utd 2
Unai Emery’s side had one of the best home records in the Premier League a few weeks ago. Since then, they had lost to both Newcastle and Chelsea in emphatic fashion. As many had talked about Villa being title challengers, it had all started to go pear-shaped.
With Man Utd the visitors to Villa Park, they had a chance to put an eleven point gap between themselves and Erik ten Hag’s side. For the visitors, if they were to stand any chance to still challenge for the top four, victory was a must.
Knowing that the hosts like to play out from the back, Man Utd looked to press high up the pitch early on. Fernandes threaded a ball to Hojlund but his shot was well blocked by the last man to deny Martinez the need to make a save.
Ten Hag’s side managed to force a corner, as it came in, Maguire headed it down for Hojlund to pounce and slot through the legs of the Villa keeper. It silenced the Villa Park crowd as all that could be heard was the away end.
Credit: @ManUtd
Emery’s side tried to find a way back into the game and McGinn had a shot from outside the box. He caught it with some venom but Onana reacted well to keep the ball out. Despite the save, it got the home fans fired up a little.
McGinn then played an inch-perfect pass into the path of Watkins, but as Onana and Dalot both slid in, his effort was blocked and cleared. The hosts were starting to ask questions of the Red Devils’ defence but so far, they had held firm.
Jacob Ramsey was the next player to have a glimpse of goal for The Villains, but as he tried to bend his shot into the far corner, he got it all wrong as it went well wide of the post. Despite United going in at the break leading, Emery’s side had the lion’s share of first half chances.
After the interval, Rashford cut inside from the left wing and seemed to stumble his way through the Villa defence. As he pirouetted around the defender, he looked to shoot but only got the toe end of his boot to it. The ball ran through to Martinez for a simple save.
Aston Villa came forward in search of an equaliser and Cash put in a brilliant cross into the box. Watkins got in front of his man at the near post but struck his shot straight at Onana when he should have been finding the back of the net.
The game was finely poised, with the winner anyone’s guess. It was end to end stuff and a great spectacle for the neutral. As a United attack broke down, Villa countered with Bailey but as he looked to slot Ramsey in, the pass was a little too heavy.
Credit: @AVFCOfficial
Unai Emery’s side had another fantastic chance to score but from only two yards out, Lenglet drilled the ball straight at the United keeper once again. As Villa recycled the ball, the cross came in for Douglas Luiz to smash it into the roof of the net.
The hosts were piling the pressure on but as Man Utd broke away, the ball was worked to Garnacho who cut in from the left. He ran along the edge of the box before getting a shot off, which narrowly missed the far post with Martinez scrambling.
As The Villains lifted a ball into the danger area, Dalot failed to clear and the ball dropped to Luiz only seven yards out. He seemed to not be expecting it and scuffed a shot into the bottom corner which was all too easy to save for Onana.
We got to a stage of the game then where both teams seemed to take their foot off the gas. You wondered whether they had both decided to take the point. The visitors tentatively came forward once again, passing it around with no real attacking intent.
Dalot then whipped in a cross with pace, right onto the head of McTominay. All he had to do was hit the target and it was a goal, and he duly delivered. Villa Park went silent apart from the away end, who by this stage were in raptures.
Cash then got forward for Emery’s side and drilled in a cross which picked out Watkins in the box. He headed it straight at Onana which pretty much summed up Aston Villa’s day. They had plenty of chances but their finishing was poor, all too often.
Man Utd took all the points and moved to within five points of their opponents. Their slim chance of making the top four this season was still alive, much at the expense of Aston Villa. It makes for an interesting remainder of the campaign with many sides challenging for Champions League places.
Did you enjoy this article? Please share to your social media. With one click you can help spread the word and make Solid at the Back the one-stop shop for all Premier League fans.