Robin Olsen was Villa’s culprit for Fernandes’ goal to make it 3-2: his misplaced pass went straight to Alejandro Garnazzo and when the Portuguese collected from the wing his effort deflected off Tyrone Mings. Then, in added time, McTominay slipped over and, after Unai Emery’s men had twice taken the lead, the Ten Hag can rightly hail the spirit his side showed in refusing to be beaten and then go for the jugular. United’s mission was to avenge Sunday’s ignominious 3-1 Premier League defeat at Villa. In this assignment they had Anthony Martial spearheading only his second start of an injury-plagued campaign, and his first touch was sharp: twice the ball bounced to him and twice he sent it to a colleague. There was composure, too, from a United corner, where Fernandes flicked the ball to Marcus Rashford, whose cross fell onto the head of Harry Maguire. However, the captain’s link-up went backwards and Tyrell Malacia stabbed his attempted cross over. The left-back was better on the next pick-off from Rashford, forcing United into a second corner, but this time Fernandes was frustrated as his delivery was easily cleared. Ollie Watkins heads the ball past Martin Dubravka to give Aston Villa the lead at Manchester United. Photo: Lewis Storey/Getty Images Each manager made seven changes, with Martin Dubravka making his Ten Haag debut for the hosts, while former United captain Ashley Young was named by Emery, who was a picture of constant movement within his technical area. The Villa manager watched United control the ball and the area but was unimaginative. The Spaniard’s side were getting ideas when they were in possession and suddenly they turned it around: Fernandes’ through ball to Rashford was fed to Malacia on the overlap and his cross, via a deflection, Diogo Dalot crashed into the roof of Robin Olsen’s net. It all made the match a test of United’s ability to break down their opponents and Villa’s ability to counter-attack quickly to expose Maguire and the rest of his back line. It was a surprise, then, when Ludwig Augustinsson produced Villa’s best moment while his side were camped in United’s half. He won a corner on the left which Douglas Luiz looked to fly straight until Scott McTominay headed under the bar. A second corner followed and this time, when the delivery left the area, Young unleashed an ever-missing volley. Villa were soon back deep in their own territory, gratefully watching Malacia knock the ball wide, a Fernandes backheel to nothing and Rashford squandering a 20-yard free-kick as a pointless, quality-less first half came to an end. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Quick guide
Carabao Cup fourth round draw
projection Wolves – Gillingham Southampton – Lincoln Blackburn – Nottingham Forest Newcastle – Bournemouth Manchester City – Liverpool Manchester United – Burnley MK Dons – Leicester Charlton – Brighton Ties will be played in the week commencing 19th December Thanks for your response. The second half, surely, might be less boring: that was the hope and that’s exactly what happened as in a breathless 60 seconds Villa took the lead before United brought it back. First, United thought Boubakar Kamara had been handballed after winning the ball and feeding Jacob Ramsey, who unlocked the home rearguard with a pass that sent Ollie Watkins sprinting forward to see the opener over the bar. Dubravka. After United’s complaints died down and restarted the game, Dalot immediately released Fernandes down the right and his perfectly weighted ball was headed home by Martial. Suddenly – and thankfully – the tie was alive, the vibrancy of the crowd pumping up the Old Trafford volume as both sides went at each other at pace. Emery made changes, one of which, Leon Bailey, was instrumental in Villa regaining the lead. Young charged forward and flicked the ball towards the back post and the forward, 90 seconds after coming on, headed home. Dalot tried to clear but could only beat Dubravka. Rashford spurned a golden chance to score United’s second equaliser, firing wide before making amends. The hapless Mings slipped and Rashford shrugged off Calum Chambers and slotted in. The Villa centre-back, who failed to make Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad, now suffered further pain as his leg inadvertently helped Fernandes’ strike beat the hapless Olsen. In the 91st minute, McTominay made no mistake as he left to be celebrated by the home team.
