PL W FA Premier League

Manchester United 3:2 Aston Villa

Post-match discussion


Tue, 26 December 2023

He’s either on the wind up or so bitter he can’t accept when we play well. Villa are up there on merit, that’s a great with for United.

Or he just means Villa were poor tonight. As opposed to being a poor team per se.
 
We started apoplectic, Villa was playing risky tactics though and we were trying to take advantage. If all came together in the 2nd half.

This is a turning point: we went from dejection and a sacked manager probably, to fighting and ripping Villa to shreds.

Yeah, it is a fecking Xmas miracle.
 
Apart from the shambolic defending for the first two goals i thought we played excellent the pressing was good the tenacity and hunger was there some good passing and moving the offside goal was brilliantly worked. I thought Rashford was much better tonight and i think we should start Garnacho from the right as he can clearly play there thought Evans was excellent that was a great block and i was delighted to see Hojlund get his goal he was better in second half and won us few good free kicks to keep the pressure on. Also its clear as day we are much more fluid without Mctominay and that midfield had a bit more balance it was still bit wide open at times but tonight there can be no moaning because the players clearly layed for the manager tonight but the question must be asked why cant they do this every match.
 
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Or he just means Villa were poor tonight. As opposed to being a poor team per se.

But he didn’t say that, he said a poor Villa side which they clearly aren’t.

Also why is it always when we win the other team played poorly rather than us playing well?
 
That’s our best front six. So good to finally see a performance like that this season. We were miles better than Villa.
 
They were terrible and way too open.

The difference wasn’t Villa, it was us. They came at us seeing we were there for the taking but in Eriksen and Mainoo had two midfielders who can actually see the game. Mainoo covered the spaces brilliantly and Eriksen did exactly what you want him in the team for, he passed through the lines. That made Villa look open. Villa played front foot forward but as soon as our midfielders can beat the press with a pass through the lines, it opened them up.

That’s what happens when you play technically excellent midfielders. We’re always going on about having legs in midfield like it’s a fecking marathon, or physicality like it’s a wrestling match. Just play good footballers in the right positions. Rotating Eriksen, Mainoo and Casemiro (when fit) for the two deeper midfield positions, is where it’s at for us. Changes our ability to control the game completely.
 
Shove that up your boring Brummie windpipe Gobby (Villa's all time leading PL scorer) bleedin' Agbonlahor.

It was a berry good ebening!!:lol:
 
Give him the number 7 next season ! What a legend, flipped the right wing conundrum on its head.
I'll be honest, I thought apart from the 10 minutes when they got their two goals, we were the better side the whole game.
A decent game from Mainoo and Evans was brilliant.
Delighted.
 
Villa must be gutted. Last Friday, with games to come against Sheffield and Manchester United, you'd've expected them to take 6pts as both have been largely execrable... and they got a single, measly point.
 
Happy with the win.

But when the players put in lacklustre performances away to west ham, Newcastle and then turn it on tonight...it gets me thinking

It shows me It ain't the manager it's this group of players...they do it when they feel like it
In a game like that, we’ll always be a threat. As good as villa have been this season they were pretty bad today and the amount of space we had to play in was obscene. We know that with space these players can flourish very well. I didn’t see a group of players not trying against West Ham and Newcastle (well apart from Rashford and Martial) but in those games the space was a lot less and the game was more compact especially in the central areas. That’s when we start to look clueless with Mctominay being asked to penetrate tight defences etc and when you need your drills to unlock defences we simply don’t have them. You can see by today we are still a massively instinctive team, hence the ole ball comments.
Ten Hag has not done anywhere near enough with our overall play.
Not to sound like a spoil sport but you can guarantee against Forest it’ll be back to looking clueless and void of ideas as they’ll likely have a deep and compact set up.
 
United were magnificent in the second half. It's clear this team is not lacking talent, ability, or training. They lack consistent desire.

That said, Ten Hag needs to drop Onana ASAP and McT should NEVER start.
 
Well deserved win in the end, a much improved 2nd half performance but we need to start games with such intensity, hopefully we’ll see this more going forwards.

We have 1 PL game in Jan, we need to be on that training pitch getting our tactics sorted for the rest of the year!
 
Far more like it. Best performance of the season? We actually fought and pressed strongly. Amazing what a bit of fire can do!
 
We were brilliant second half. Some sketchy moments and things were pretty disjointed first half but thoroughly deserved based on that last 45.
 
As much as I want to really enjoy this win given the manner of it. Still can't help but feel they'll go out and feck up against Forest and Wigan.(I hope I'm wrong) They've shown they've the capabality if they want to but haven't done so for the vast majority of the season so far which is extemely frustrating.
 
The commentary mentioned that Villa have only beaten United 5 times in the Premier League while it was 0-2.

Still 5 times.
 
Excellent game and performance. Best of the season by a mile beings as it was against a strong team in flying form and not fodder.

More of this please!
 
Have Villa not beaten City and Arsenal this season? Maybe we just outplayed them in the 2nd half. Bruno was the orchestra I thought he could never be.

It was the same in the first half, the 2-0 massively flattered them, Evra was right, 2 poor pieces of defending but after about the second goal was a matter of time before the Utd goals came. Villa were playing a high line with no pressure on the ball. They are a good team but they weren't quite on it tonight and also Utd have players who are ideally suited to exposing that line. Rash is the best in the country against that type of set up.
 
The build up play for our disallowed goal - I think that’s the football we all thought we’d see under Ten Hag. That should be the baseline - that 2nd half was not only the best half of football we’ve seen this season, arguably up there with one of the best 45 minutes under Ten Hag. Up there with Barca / Spurs at home for me that 2nd half
 
Great spirit, good comeback!

Why 9 minutes of extra time? Because of all the timewasting from the Villa players I guess? So they got an extra advantage with extra time as well. Great refereeing.
 
I just don’t understand why we can’t play with the same intensity, same pressing and same directness in every game as I can take losing as long as we’re actually giving 100% on the pitch.

We probably didn’t deserve to be 2-0 down at half time and it was down to shocking keeping and poor defending but we wasn’t as direct or as intense until the second half, we should start every game like this and the results will then come although I have a horrible feeling it’s simply players playing for their future as they know they could get bombed off in the summer now Ineos is officially in.
 
Well deserved win in the end, a much improved 2nd half performance but we need to start games with such intensity, hopefully we’ll see this more going forwards.

We have 1 PL game in Jan, we need to be on that training pitch getting our tactics sorted for the rest of the year!
Only 1 ..
 
Our first goal today was beautiful because our attackers moved and moved the ball at a neck breaking speed that Villa couldn't catch us, even the offside goal, the players and the ball moved very quickly
 
Get in. If only we could show that 2nd half attitude and effort every single game from now on, we might just be alright.

So happy for Hojlund as well, man did he need that!
 
Fair play to every one of them that second half. Showed serious fight and desire. Wasn’t sure they had that in them. Yeah, Villa looked leggy but a lot of that was our press and intensity after half time.

Jevans. What a man.
 
But he didn’t say that, he said a poor Villa side which they clearly aren’t.

Also why is it always when we win the other team played poorly rather than us playing well?

Agreed. Villa didn't look bad imo 1st half, we just got into them and moved the ball well when we got it back.
 
It reminds of Boxing day 1989 when a young United team came back from 1-0 to beat Liverpool 3-1. That was one of the first indications that Fergie was getting it right after an indifferent start to the season. And young players. The United way...
 

Player Ratings

6.4 Total Average Rating

Highest Rated Player

Lowest Rated Player

Compiled from 303 ratings.

Score Predictions

68,119,23
  • Man Utd win
  • Aston Villa win
  • Draw

Detailed Results

  • 16% Man Utd 2:1 Aston Villa
  • 16% Man Utd 0:2 Aston Villa
  • 15% Man Utd 0:3 Aston Villa
  • 9% Man Utd 1:2 Aston Villa
  • 7% Man Utd 1:1 Aston Villa
  • 7% Man Utd 1:0 Aston Villa
  • 6% Man Utd 0:1 Aston Villa
  • 5% Man Utd 1:3 Aston Villa
  • 4% Man Utd 2:0 Aston Villa
  • 3% Man Utd 3:1 Aston Villa
  • 2% Man Utd 0:4 Aston Villa
  • 2% Man Utd 0:0 Aston Villa
  • 2% Man Utd 2:2 Aston Villa
  • 1% Man Utd 1:4 Aston Villa
  • 1% Man Utd 4:1 Aston Villa
  • 1% Man Utd 9:0 Aston Villa
  • 1% Man Utd 0:5 Aston Villa
  • 0% Man Utd 0:9 Aston Villa
  • 0% Man Utd 2:3 Aston Villa
  • 0% Man Utd 3:0 Aston Villa
  • 0% Man Utd 0:7 Aston Villa
Compiled from 210 predictions.
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Match Stats

  1. Man Utd
  2. Aston Villa
Possession
46% 54%
Shots
13 10
Shots on Target
7 4
Corners
3 6
Fouls
10 10

Referee

Craig Pawson