Manchester United staged an incredible comeback to seal a 3-2 win against Aston Villa on Boxing Day. It was our first victory over a top half side in the Premier League this season and was quite the turnaround for the Reds who needed this result.
Erik Ten Hag got the three points but also a performance from the players that he can use to build upon for future games. The midfield and the front three got the fans fired up, inspiring and giving us hope now we are under the era of Sir Jim Ratcliffe who has subsequently taken a 25% stake in the club and control of the football operations.
United unable to deal with set pieces
The game itself can be split into two halves. It was United who had the first chance on goal with Christian Eriksen’s effort from the edge of the box being saved by Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. There were few other promising attacks from the Reds but nothing materialise of any note.
United were unable to grow any further into the game as Aston Villa soon capitalise on our inept defending to take the lead. John McGinn hit a free kick across the goal from the right hand side that went past everyone including Andre Onana. There were protests from the players and the fans that some of the Villa players had been in an offside position. However, VAR did not intervene and the goal stood.
It got worse minutes later when Clément Lenglet went totally unmarked from an uncontested corner to head the ball across the box for Dendoncker to fire it into the back of the net to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. The Reds were all over the place and were booed off at half time.
The Reds show their fighting spirit
The second half saw United on the front foot from the get go. Marcus Rashford launched a counterattack setting up Alejandro Garnacho to score, reducing the deficit. However, VAR came into play that showed that the Argentine was in the offside position. It was a sucker punch and felt like nothing was going to go our way.
Garnacho did not have to wait too long as ten minutes later Rashford set him up again, smashing the ball past Martinez. The start of the comeback was now on. The momentum had shifted in favour of United as the midfield and the front three pressed the opposition with more intent.
The goal lit the blue touch paper and it wasn’t long before the Reds were back on level terms. Garnacho had found space inside the box and hit the ball through a line of defenders into the goal. It seems that a third goal would now be inevitable.
The moment we had been waiting for finally came in the 82nd minute as from the United corner the ball fell to Rasmus Højlund who adjusted his position to hit a half volley into the left corner of the net that sent the whole of the stadium into raptures.
The match was by no means over as nine minutes of injury time came upon the board as we hit the 90th minute mark. The Reds dealt with everything to seal the comeback and the three points. It could be the most important win of our season and maybe this is start of the turning point.
Player Ratings & MOTM
Andre Onana – 6. Caught out again for Villa’s first goal. Did make a good save in the second half to deny the opposition a third.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 6. Comfortable in possession and defensively good but did not show as much going forward.
Raphael Varane – 6. Question his role in Villa’s first goal but other than that he did okay.
Jonny Evans – 7. Cleared up for Dalot’s error early on. Stopped an almost certain goal from John McGinn in the 71st minute. Showed his experience.
Diogo Dalot – 6. Had a much better second half than the first.
Kobbie Mainoo – 7. Comfortable and composed on the ball. Will keep improving with more minutes on the pitch.
Christian Eriksen – 7. Creative and hit some great passes from the deeper positions. Helped change the game with his interchanges with Bruno Fernandes.
Bruno Fernandes – 7. Better second half as he linked up the play from the midfield to the attack.
Marcus Rashford – 7.5. Had made some great runs which his teammates did not pick out. Looked a threat every time he got on the ball subsequently got the assist in Garnacho’s first goal.
Rasmus Højlund – 7. Had no service from his teammates for most of the game but he kept trying and got his reward with the winning goal.
Alejandro Garnacho – 8 & MOTM. Always looking dangerous on the wing. Proved key in mounting the comeback with two goals. Could have had a hat-trick had a goal not been ruled out for offside.
Subs:
Antony, Scott McTominay, Willy Kambwala, Dan Gore and Hannibal Mejbri – N/A
What next for United?
This was the final home league match of 2023 to be played at Old Trafford. We still have one more league game to play this year with a away trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The game against Aston Villa was not going to be easy as they were a side in form and United playing inconsistently. It looked all set to be another miserable night at the Theatre of Dreams being 2-0 down at half time. However, we fought back in the best way possible, taking all three points. The result leaves us sixth in the table and five points behind fourth place.
