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It was a Manchester United in brilliant form that hosted another strong team, Aston Villa, on Friday night. The home team had nine straight games without losing before the meeting with Villa, who in turn had five straight games without losing.
The beginning of the first half did not offer many chances, although Anthony Martial, for example, had a hard shot that was saved by Emiliano Martínez in the Aston Villa goal.
In the 40th minute, the United French forward would retaliate.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka rushed forward down the right wing and with a precise post, the defender reached the forehead of Martial who was able to head there close 1-0 for United, a result that stood out in the half.
Ten minutes after the second, Villa would reply.
After a short fight with the defender, Jack Grealish finally put the ball down 1 – 1. It was 1 – 1 at the break. The joy, however, was short-lived when Paul Pogba awarded a penalty for United just minutes after the 1-1 goal.
From the penalty spot, Bruno Fernandes was the safety when he clearly made it 2-1 for United.
With less than 20 minutes to go, United had another chance to score. A Luke Shaw tackle hit Pogba, but the midfielder’s shot from just a few yards. Sour for United and bitter for Pogba, who has so far only scored one league goal this season.
In the last ten minutes of the game, the trend was clear. United tried to slow down and Aston Villa tried to move on. The visiting center back shouldn’t have had a problem clearing the pass for Tyrone Mings, but the Tyrone Mings player managed to shrug and fired a low shot over the goalkeeper to give his team the lead.
And no goals were offered for the match and Manchester United won 2-1.
United’s victory means the team is now in the running against Liverpool at the top of the Premier League. However, Liverpool still lead the league as they have a better goal difference than United.
“The victory means a lot and shows how we have developed since the beginning of the season,” United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka told Sky Sports.
He continues:
– We only take one game at a time. We started out slow through the season and ended up in a situation where we needed to hunt. But now we are here (at the top of the table).
Aston Villas, right back Matty Cash:
– Manchester United are a top team and play good football, but we had our chances to score. A draw would have been fair, but we have been pushing ourselves to the end, as we did throughout the season. It was a shame we didn’t get points.
Victor Nilsson Lindelöf was absent at United because he was struggling with a back injury.
Team starting eleven:
Manchester United: De Gea – Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw – Rashford, Fred, Fernandes, McTominay, Pogba – Martial
Aston Villa: Martínez – Cash, Mings, Konsa, Targett – Traore, McGinn, Grealish, Luiz, El Ghazi – Watkins
