Aston Villa sealed a comfortable victory over Manchester United during a 3-1 thumping at Villa Park Stadium, United Radar understands.
This was the first match for Unai Emery as the manager for Aston Villa following his appointment to replace Steven Gerrard.
Aston Villa dominance in first-half
Emery era started on a high when Villa claimed an early lead through Leon Bailey, thanks to an assist by Ollie Watkins after the Englishman jinxed away from Victor Lindelof.
Three minutes later Aston Villa was awarded a free-kick from a promising position. Subsequently, Lucas Digne curled the ball passed David de Gea to hand the hosts a two goal lead in just ten minutes.
The home side intensified pressure while the visitors displayed a lackluster performance. Matty Cash blazed a shot wildly over the bar.
On the 33rd minute Manchester United missed a glorious opportunity when Alejandro Garnacho’s effort from a tight angle was saved by Emiliano Martinez.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper made a further follow-up save when Cristiano Ronaldo’s attempt from six yards was covered by Martinez.
United grew into the match but were kept at bay by Aston Villa defense until the 44th minute when Luke Shaw broke the deadlock for the visitors.
The English international attempted a cross and his effort deflected off Ramsey to hand Manchester United an own goal. First-half scoreline finished at 2-1.
Second-half
The home side continued where they left off in the first-half. Once again, Aston Villa registered a shot on target within a minute through Leon Bailey.
On the 49th minute, Leon Ramsey rifled the ball emphatically into the net to restore a two goal lead for the Birmingham based club.
There was an altercation between Ronaldo and Tyrone Mings when the pair wrestled. VAR came to the party to check any violent conduct, and Anthony Taylor awarded both players with yellow cards.
Marcus Rashford lashed the ball across the face of goal but Anthony Elanga failed to punish the hosts. Ronaldo could not take the chance from the follow-up.
On the 72nd minute, Manchester United was awarded a free-kick from close range. Cristiano played a poor free-kick by strucking the wall. This summed up the season of the Portuguese.
A minute later, his compatriot Diogo Dalot was in a very good position to score but opted to cross the ball which only landed to an Aston Villa player.
Carlo Casemiro played a quality pass into the path of Rashford but the latter opted to head the ball backwards. This was poor decision making similar to Dalot.
Aston Villa was not under pressure in the closing stages. They kept the ball well and sealed a comfortable 3-1 home victory.
United miss out on top four
Manchester United came into the match three points away from Champions League places and hoped to leapfrog their rivals.
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspurs dropped points after the London based clubs succumbed to Arsenal and Liverpool respectively.
Manchester United missed an opportunity to get into the fourth spot and possibly third position before the World Cup.
Ten Hag express frustration
Manchester United was tactically flat and Ten Hag was not shy to show his frustration. He slammed the players for trying to play long balls to Ronaldo.
According to Sky Sports, when asked whether he instructed his team to attempt long balls to the 37-year-old, Ten Hag replied: “No, I think it was stupid to do that.”
He further added: “We delivered too quickly crosses in from too far and too forcing. Then, we don’t help him. We have to bring in the crosses at the right moment.”
“I think in the second half also we bring too quickly the crosses in.”
“The right moment was from Christian Eriksen in the first half and he found the moment in the pocket to deliver the ball to Cristiano at the far post. That was the right moment.”
“Bruno Fernandes is an important player but I don’t have that feeling. It is about the players who are now on the pitch to win this game.”
“If they do their job 100 per cent, with passion and desire, following the rules and the principles of football, then we win this game.”
“When you lose the game at the start of the first half and the start of the second half, when you start games like this, you get beat.”
