Manchester United traveled to Villa Park to face a confident Villains side buoyant off a historic victory over Bayern Munich in their last outing. Unai Emery made three changes to his side for the match; with Leon Bailey returning, Diego Carlos rested and Ross Barkely replacing an injured Amadou Onana in midfield.
The Red Devils on the other made four changes to the side that lost a two-goal lead away at FC Porto on Thursday. Garnacho replaced Amad Diallo on the right-wing, the two centre-backs on the night in Matthijs de ligt and Lisandro Martinez were replaced by Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire, and Kobbie Mainoo returned to the side after missing the Porto tie with a slight knock.
The game started just how the under-pressure Ten Hag would’ve hoped, Villa were slow to get out in the early stages, presumably still a bit jaded from their midweek Champions League heroics. The first attempt on target came in Villa’s own half, courtesy of a Marcus Rashford shot from just outside the area, which Emiliano Martinez dealt with well. Villa began to get themselves into the game shortly after Ezri Konsa was forced off injured, efforts from Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemens came close however the Villains retreated into their dressing room without a single shot on target in the first half.
Unai Emery wore a poker face in the second half, tensely making his way to his technical area ahead of the start of the second 45 minutes. His body language translated onto the pitch, as the Villans sought to begin the half on the front foot despite an early sighter from Rashford that required Emi Martinez’s trademark agility to tip the ball behind for a corner. As the hour mark was on the horizon, the Villans looked to inject some directness into their play, forcing United to concede back-to-back corners, the latter of which came from a curling effort by Youri Tielemans from just outside the United penalty area, which Andre Onana denied as the Cameroonian was tested for the first time in the match.
Villa's dominance carried on past the 60th minute as they continued to fashion chances for the likes of Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers; however, despite the chances, Emery’s men failed to trouble Onana as most of their efforts went wide. As the hosts' dominant spell began to die down, Matty Cash brought Alejandro Garnacho down for his second consecutive foul in the span of five minutes. The free-kick was within shooting range, so who else should step up for United other than their Skipper Bruno Fernandes?
The Portuguese international set the ball down and agonizingly struck the crossbar from around 30 yards out; United’s best effort of the game by some margin had gone begging, and Villa supporters were relieved to see the ball skim the top of the crossbar. The affair failed to produce any more exciting moments after that, with the United players displaying doggedness and preparation to see themselves through the remaining half hour or so (with added time) largely unharmed – with their clean sheet still intact.
Manchester United and their supporters will know how lucky they are to leave Villa Park with a point despite their relatively poor form, managing to avoid defeat at a ground Emery has turned into a fortress since his arrival. Here’s how the United players fared in their trip to Villa Park:
Andre Onana 7/10
Onana barely had much to do all game, only pulling off a single save throughout the 90 minutes. Although Aston Villa spent a good amount of time in United’s territory, they were heavily lacking in clinicality today as much of their goal attempts were not on target. The Cameroon international still impressed when called upon though, and is now on an admirable four clean sheets this season.
Diogo Dalot 8/10
In my earlier post, I highlighted the wide spaces as an area United will have to pay attention to against a Villa side that loves to attack out wide. United’s number 20 did well and must’ve been well prepared for the game as he handled the threat of Leon Bailey expertly until the winger's exit. The Highlight of his performance came in the game's latter stages as he denied Villa a late winner, blocking the goal-bound strike from Jaden Bidace with his back.
Jonny Evans 9/10 (Man of the Match)
The standout performer in yet another good Manchester United defensive display, Jonny Evans, was imposing in today’s match. Supporters called for one of the two center halves in Lisandro Martinez or De Ligt to be dropped ahead of the game; the Red Devils’ head coach went against his stubbornness and obliged, handing the United veteran his first start of the season. Evans won 100% of his aerial duels and 90% of his ground duels and also made four tackles. Now, that’s how you repay your manager’s trust!
Harry Maguire 6/10
Manchester United’s former captain was taken off for De Light before the commencement of the second half. He picked up a knock in the first half but had fared well up against strong Villa attack.
Noussair Mazraoui 6/10
Eyes were on the Moroccan during the build-up to the game. His troubling displays in United’s past two games did not go unnoticed by fans, and so the onus was on the fullback to allay the growing concerns of United fans. He played well up until his half time substitution, but 45 minutes won’t be enough to allay those concerns, and he must be ready to go again in his upcoming fixtures
Christian Eriksen 7/10
The Dane was reinstated into his Ten Hag's starting lineup for today's Premier League clash. He was neat on the ball and also showed flashes of his creativity as well, which TenHag deemed enough to keep him on the pitch for the full 90 minutes.
Kobie Mainoo 7/10
Mainoo was subbed off in the 85th minute for Brazilian Casemiro. The Midfielder had a decent outing and complemented Eriksen well today, managing to win 50% of his ground duels as well.
Marcus Rashford 7/10
The Englishman has been the centre of heated debates after Ten Hag brought him off at halftime against Porto despite being the best player on the field by some margin. The Reds' manager cited 'tactical reasons’ in their midweek Europa League game. He was United’s biggest threat today as he showed flashes of the Rashford we saw against the Liga Portugal giants in the first half, even forcing Emi Martinez into a save.
Bruno Fernandes 7.5/10
Manchester United’s skipper was yet another player who has been heavily criticized over his poor performances leading up to his side’s trip to Villa Park. Fernandes was sent off in consecutive games against Tottenham and FC Porto in the Europa League. His Premier League suspension was successfully appealed and so the number 8 led his side out today. He had a relatively quiet game today, barring his devilish free kick, which was denied by the crossbar.
Alejandro Garnacho 7/10
Garnacho put in a decent shift today but was unable to really trouble the Villa backline. He had several opportunites at goal but a lack of end-product was glaring.
Rasmus Hojlund 5/10
The striker had a quiet game, failing to get a single shot off before he was deservedly subbed off for Zirkzee in the 64th minute of the game.
Matthijs De Ligt 7/10
The former Ajax captain was brought on at halftime to replace the injured Maguire. Upon his introduction he started well, winning 90% of his ground duels and completing 4 tackles in the 45+ minutes he spent on the pitch. However, his blushes were saved by Dalot late in the game when the fullback saved a shot that resulted from a cross he failed to clear.
Victor Lindelof 7/10
Lindelof was subbed on for Mazraoui at halftime. He made a decent cameo appearance at right back and helped United maintain their clean sheet.
Antony 6/10
The winger was brought on for Rashford shortly after the hour mark, a decision that was met with booing from the away end at Villa Park. The Brazillian put in a decent display on the right wing though, even testing Martinez with a curling effort from outside the box.
Joshua Zirkzee 5/10
Zirkzee had just as disappointing a game as Hojlund. The Duch striker was brought on alongside Antony, and just like the man he replaced, he failed to register a single shot on target. His link-up play was poor, and he barely posed problems for the Villa defense since his introduction into the game.
Casemiro 6/10
The Brazilian didn’t play for too long but did well in the measly 13 minutes he played.
What next for Manchester United after Aston Villa draw?
Manchester United co-owners INEOS look set to decide Ten Hag's fate amid a concerning run of form. He might not be in charge after the international break when the Reds face Brentford (October 19) at Old Trafford.
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