Manchester United defeated Aston Villa by a 1-0 scoreline in the third round of the FA Cup, and will now face Middlesbrough in the fourth round.
At the Theatre of Dreams, a much-changed United faced Steven Gerrard’s side, and Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t even make the bench due to a hip injury. The tie was also ruled out for Jadon Sancho.
It was the academy graduate, Scott McTominay who made the breakthrough in the eighth minute. The Scottish midfielder climbed higher than the Villa defenders to head the ball into the net through a fantastic cross by Fred.
Villa had an opportunity at the other end when Lindelof attempted to clear a corner but instead sent it into the path of Ollie Watkins, who was approaching at the back post but was caught off guard and bundled the ball wide.
McGinn was allowed too much time and space to get a shot away in the first twenty minutes, and Villa forced a good save from De Gea.
Manchester United have scored four goals in their last three games across all competitions.
Scott McTominay has scored two of the four goals. š„ pic.twitter.com/fwW9jHX2pY
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 10, 2022
As United countered, Cavani had a good chance. Leading the attack, Bruno Fernandes waited for alternatives before passing it to the Uruguayan, who forced Martinez into a good stop.
It was now Villa’s turn to counter, as another blunder from Lindelof allowed Watkins to find the underside of the crossbar. Villa had another chance moments later, but it was diverted just wide of the goal. The game seemed to come in waves, and now it was United’s chance to assault after surviving the Villa wave.
Villa’s strong defense prevented Fernandes from shooting before Shaw sprinted onto a long-range pass and struck it with strength, forcing Martinez to make a fantastic stop to tip it over the bar. With some beautiful runs and passes, Fernandes and Rashford were teaming up well, but they couldn’t capitalize on it.
United started the second half strongly, forcing a mistake from Villa that allowed Cavani and Fernandes to link up to attack but the defense raced back quickly and drove the ball out for a corner.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa didn’t take long to score from a free-kick. With Cavani waiting in the penalty area, the ball was headed across the face of the goal, flicked on by Watkins, and finished off by striker Danny Ings to find the net.
A lengthy VAR check ensued, with no one sure if they were checking for a foul or an offside. The goal was eventually chalked off after referee Michael Oliver was summoned to the monitor and judged that Ramsey had stopped Cavani, eliciting tremendous applause and sighs of relief from the home crowd.
Man Utdās lowest possession in wins at Old Trafford this season:
49% Leeds
45% Arsenal
43% Aston VillaRangnickās still searching for ācontrolā. šš®āšØ pic.twitter.com/5ivalqulUy
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) January 10, 2022
Tensions were escalating, particularly between McGinn and Fernandes, and the Villa team was gaining momentum. United appeared to be clutching on in the second half.
United had a handful of chances as they struggled to stay in the contest. Martinez scooped up a tame shot by Greenwood before forcing a save that Rashford could have tapped in, but he stopped running and began walking back before Villa regained possession of the ball.
Rangnick sought to calm things down by bringing on Donny Van De Beek. United was in desperate need of fresh legs. Lingard and Elanga were also added to the attack for a new offensive force.
Though they didnāt have much time to make an effect, Elanga and Lingard linked up nicely, the former making good runs and Lingard showing wonderful skill and control as he danced around two defenders to keep an attack alive.
The Reds got a squeaky win, but Ralf Rangnick and the fans will take it.
