Aston Villa vs Manchester United Review
For the first time in more than 100 years, Aston Villa have won 10 consecutive competitive matches as a top-division team, following their 2-1 victory over Manchester United. United had a slow start, but Villa could not score thanks to Senne Lammens and Ayden Heaven. United’s goalkeeper first denied John McGinn, and then their young defender made a crucial block to stop Ollie Watkins from scoring an almost certain goal. They also had to withstand another close call from the resulting corner, when Ian Maatsen’s driven shot across the six-yard box was narrowly deflected wide by Morgan Rogers’ heel.
After Ruben Amorim’s team settled down, they gained control over their opponents and challenged Martínez when Šeško’s shot was saved by the Argentine goalkeeper. Despite United’s strong performance in the first half, their efforts seemed wasted when Rogers cut inside from the left and curled a beautiful shot into the top right corner. However, just before halftime, United received an early Christmas present when Matty Cash was dispossessed by Patrick Dorgu, and Matheus Cunha skillfully curled a perfect shot into the far corner to equalize.
United’s momentum was soon halted at halftime when an injury to Bruno Fernandes forced Amorim to bring in center-back Lisandro Martínez to play in midfield. Martínez adapted quickly to his new role, but United fell behind again when Rogers, in a near-identical move to his first goal, cut inside from the left and curled another flawless shot into the far corner. United had a chance to respond shortly after when Dorgu delivered a perfect cross to Cunha’s head six yards out, but surprisingly, Cunha headed wide from what seemed like an easy scoring opportunity.
United gave young players Shea Lacey and Jack Fletcher their first appearances, and although Lacey had a shot towards the end that at least challenged Martínez, they were left to regret Cunha’s missed opportunity as the one that slipped away. Villa reinforced their position as serious title contenders, while United’s progress has been hindered after falling behind their European rivals, a gap that may increase due to an expanding number of players unavailable.
