Manchester United Vs Aston Villa Insight: A first PL defeat of the Season

Manchester United hosted Aston Villa in the English Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday. Manchester United has been struggling in the recent week, and they were coming off a 1-0 loss to West Ham midweek, quashing their earlier victory of 2-1 last weekend. They were also coming off a 2-1 loss against Young Boys in the Champions League. On the other hand, Aston Villa has started the season on a good note after losing only 2 of their last six games. Paul Merson had predicted a 1-1 draw in the game. To win big on the Sunday games, get high odds with NetBet, who had 7+ odds for Aston Villa to win.

Manchester United was without Marcus Rashford, injured, while Aston Villa was missing Axel Tuanzebe, Leon Baily and Morgan Sanson. Manchester United had a strong line-up that had every reason and will to win the game. This comes after a tight match with Cristiano Ronaldo as the centre forward. Strategically placed behind the iconic striker were Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood, and Paul Pogba on the wings.

Despite the colourful statistics of 60% possession against 40% for Aston Villa, the Reds still lost, pushing them to 4th position on the English Premier League table. Anyone watching the match, even if they are not a Man United fan, would see and predict a win for the home team. A total of 28 shots with 17 inside the box against the 7 shots for Aston Villa was clearly a no match. As they say, do not count your chicks before they hatch.

All the top 4 teams on the EPL table have varied goal differences but hold a tie of 13 points; Liverpool still having a game at hand. A win would have definitely put Man United at the top of the table. A possibility of snatching a point with a draw was taken away after Bruno Fernandes, who failed to make it count with the set-piece. Penalties have been a trend in the final minutes of recent Man United games. Martinez, the Aston Villa goalkeeper, even asked Ronaldo to take the penalty before Bruno Fernandes missed it. He sent the ball over the bar, and hence Villa retained their lead. Could it be the yellow card bookings for Fred and Luke Shaw that dismantled the teams’ morale? United had a chance to score in the 92nd minute but to no avail. The extra time in football matches is surely something.

Critics have it that Greenwood has been a little stingy with the ball today. This comes after a glorious ass-kissing and showers of praise that the young star received in the past two matches, displaying exemplary football skills. “Greenwood should never be benched in any Man United game,” said a fan. However, it was different today after denying Ronaldo clean passes, which stakes say could have led to victory for the home team. 

The visitors (Kortney Hause) managed to get the ball past De Gea after a clean assist from Douglas Luiz pushing Aston Villa 7th on the table. Unfortunate for Man United, this was the only goal in the 90-minute match. Harry Maguire displayed great defending after being ousted following an injury in the 67^th minute. 

Manchester United fans have strongly criticized Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for his poor tactics in the Red Devils, including a ‘bias’ line-up with good players on the bench. His team lacked the needed quality and creativity in the midfield to break down the Villa defence and create opportunities. He was also blamed for not having a good tactical approach and not making any changes to the team even though they played poorly. This is not the first time that fans have criticized Ole. He has been accused of switching Pogba to the wing and insisting on putting McFred at midfield. Fans have incessantly asked for Zidane to replace Ole as Man United coach.

Even at the 77th minute, no offensive change was made while drawing at Old Trafford with Sancho, Cavani, Lingard and Martial on the bench. Ole wanted players, and he got them. He got Maguire, Varane, Bruno, Sancho and the almighty CR7.

Aston Villa defeated Manchester United with a surprising 1-0 loss at home. At Old Trafford, it was obvious that United would win this game and extend their Premier League season back into their favour after that disappointing defeat against Young Boys. But we all know how football is and how unpredictable it can be most of the time.