Manchester United stumbled into a shocking 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa at Old Trafford. The game was a dull one to watch for a Man United fan as their home team was unable to beat a tight Villa defence.
The game started brightly for Manchester United as they were attacking quite well in the first 10 mins. Aston Villa was staying back and trying to defend.
The possession and game stability continued until the United players started getting slower while defending. Aston Villa got a good chance to score in the 16th minute when McGinn got the better of Luke Shaw and swirled in a spectacular low pass to Target, but he was unable to connect it well and it went straight over the bar.
The game came into life as the clock approached the 20th minute, as both teams started attacking more. United escaped an embarrassing moment in the 24th minute when Harry Maguire in pressure, had sent a very loose back pass to David De Gea. The ball reached Watkins and De Gea made a stunning save from point-blank range to deny his shot from travelling into the net.
Luke Shaw was then substituted in the 34th minute after getting a slight knock. Diogo Dalot came in as there were concerns regarding the defender’s fitness.
The first half had less effect from United’s attack as Ronaldo was mostly isolated and Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba were unable to provide quality balls into the opposition box. Aston Villa defenders, Kounsa, Hause, and Mings were defending deeply and making it quite tight for United players to attack.
The second half was expected to be full of tactical play which was missing in United’s gameplay.
It didn’t start well for United as they gave away possession again, and this time it was Paul Pogba who lost the ball in pressure from McGinn. The midfielder had sent a good cross into the box only for it to be judged as offside.
United was unable to bring an end product from their attacking play as Greenwood tried to shoot much time from the opposition box but it was easily dealt with by Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Ronaldo was unable to show more influence in the second half as well and the Villa defenders were not giving any space in the centre for United to exploit.
It was Aston Villa again in the 69th minute, as Ollie Watkins outsmarted Varane and McTominay with his positioning and stuck a powerful shot which was expertly saved by David De Gea.
The only goal and Villa’s point-winning goal came in the 88th minute of the game. A brilliant set-piece from Luiz was met by Hause who scored a powerful header. It was an inch-perfect inswinging delivery by Luiz and Hause even under pressure from Cavani, was able to hit a powerful header straight into the net.
The late drama unfolded in the 90th minute when Hause was found guilty of handling the ball with his arm. Bruno Fernandes was given the responsibility to take the penalty. Just before the penalty was taken, there was tension mounted in the opposition box as Villa players argued with the referee for his decision of handing over the penalty.
Bruno Fernandes who had a penalty conversion rate of more than 90% stood to take the penalty ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo. But he hit his shot powerfully straight above the crossbar.
And the referee signalled full-time and the day ended up pretty badly for Manchester United players and the fans.
Manager’s words after the match:
“Obviously disappointed because the goal is offside. It’s unfortunate to have that decision against you. When you lose games it’s a concern of course it is. You can take it when it’s a good goal conceded against you, but that’s offside. He’s touched David as he heads the ball. How that’s a goal and Leicester have not got their goals, I just can’t see the consistency and that’s clearly offside.”
“I’ve not seen it because it ended up with nothing anyway so I can’t comment on that one but unfortunately we missed the chance to get a point. We were very aggressive, very good on transition, got forward quickly but the final shot, final pass, and final decision weren’t always the best ones. 20 of the 30 attempts were blocked.”
What’s next:
Manchester United will face Villarreal on the 30th of September which will be a Champions League group stage match played at Old Trafford.
