Manchester United’s recent unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end on Saturday as Erik ten Hag’s men lost 3-1 to Aston Villa.
Early goals from Leon Bailey and Lucas Digne set Villa on their way, before Jacob Ramsey’s own-goal late in the second half gave United some hope. But that quickly was snuffed out at the start of the second period thanks to Ramsey’s well-taken goal on 49 minutes.
It took just seven minutes for Villa to net the opening goal of the game. Ramsey picked the ball up around 25 yards from goal and slipped it into the space vacated by Victor Lindelof, who had pushed upfield.
Bailey scurried after it and, after taking a touch, unleashed a powerful shot that fizzed past David de Gea and ended up in the back of the net.
Minutes later and it was 2-0. Luke Shaw was booked for a lunging challenge on Ramsey and from the resulting free-kick Digne curled it into the bottom corner. United just couldn’t cope with Villa’s energy and movement, and Emiliano Buendia shot wide from the edge of the box as their domination continued.
Bar a Casemiro strike that deflected over, United had created almost nothing inside the opening 30 minutes. But Emiliano Martinez had to be on hand to keep out Alejandro Garnacho’s effort as he wriggled free of Matty Cash and fired a left-footed shot towards goal.
It was a great save by the Villa goalkeeper, who then denied Cristiano Ronaldo’s header with a good reaction stop via his feet. United ended the half on top and grabbed a goal just moments before the half-time whistle. Luke Shaw’s strike from the edge of the box, which seemed to be off target, deflected into the goal off Ramsey.
But, like the first half, Villa started the second emphatically, and De Gea had to keep out a shot from Bailey after just nine seconds. Yet, the Spaniard could do nothing to deny Ramsey minutes later as he met Ollie Watkins’ cut back inside the box and fired it into the top corner.
The second half proved to be a tight and tense affair, with few chances from either side. Ronaldo hit the wall with a free-kick and Diogo Dalot whipped a dangerous cross into the Villa box that went unanswered, but the hosts managed the game well and gave United little opportunity to create scoring opportunities.
Here’s how we rated the players...
1. David de Gea- 6
Couldn’t have done much for the goals but also didn’t have many other saves to make. He did have one heart-in-mouth moment as Danny Ings nearly dispossessed him just a few yards out.
2. Diogo Dalot- 5
Didn’t offer as much going forward as he would like, although was better defensively than Shaw on the opposite flank.
3. Victor Lindelof- 4
Really struggled against Watkins, who got the better of Lindelof for two of the goals. Lindelof followed the striker deep for the first goal, creating a gap for Bailley to run into, and then he failed to stop Watkins’s pass for the third striker.
4. Lisandro Martinez- 7
Showed his erratic capabilities at times, but put in some good tackles, particularly on Bailey and Watkins. The Argentinian didn’t manage to get on the ball much and fizz passes into midfield as he likes.