Man Utd 3-4 Aston Villa: Aston Villa won a seven-goal thriller at Old Trafford on Sunday, beating Manchester United 4-3 in a Premier League classic that left Michael Carrick’s side stuck in the relegation zone and winless in seven league games.
Villa raced into a 2-0 lead inside the opening four minutes, were dragged back to 2-2 by half-time, then struck twice in six minutes after the restart before surviving a frantic finish. Joshua Zirkzee’s stoppage-time strike set up a grandstand finale, but Unai Emery’s side held on for a win that lifts them to eighth in the table.
Villa two up inside four minutes
Alysson needed just 60 seconds to stun Old Trafford. The winger cut inside from the right and fired through goalkeeper Senne Lammens at the near post to give Villa the lead. Three minutes later it was 2-0: a free-kick was only half cleared, Alysson’s shot was spilled by Lammens and Nicolas Jackson was on hand to tap in his sixth Premier League goal of the season. At three minutes and 42 seconds, it was the earliest United had ever trailed 2-0 in a Premier League match.
United’s response was spirited. Bruno Fernandes halved the deficit from the penalty spot in the 16th minute after Boubacar Kamara brought down Matheus Cunha, and Youri Tielemans fired home against his former club a minute before the break, Noussair Mazraoui supplying the pass, to make it 2-2 at half-time. It was the second time in a week that Carrick’s side had fought back from 2-0 down, having beaten Roma 3-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
United implode again after the break
But just as they had against Roma, United started the second half disastrously. John McGinn and Leon Goretzka restored Villa’s lead within six minutes of the restart. Diogo Dalot gifted Villa the advantage back within three minutes of the second half, and captain McGinn made no mistake from the penalty spot, smashing his kick into the top corner in the 48th minute. Five minutes later it was 4-2: McGinn’s free-kick caused chaos, Leny Yoro headed against his own crossbar and Goretzka poked in the rebound for his first goal for the club.
United pushed for a way back and were given hope in the second minute of stoppage time when substitute Zirkzee, teed up by Patrick Dorgu, fired home to make it 3-4. But there was no second comeback, and Villa saw out the remaining minutes to claim a famous win at Old Trafford.
What the Man Utd 3-4 Aston Villa defeat means for Carrick
The Man Utd 3-4 Aston Villa defeat leaves United 19th in the Premier League, still on seven points from 10 matches, with only bottom-placed Crystal Palace below them. Carrick’s men have now gone seven league games without a win, drawing four and losing three, and their only league victory of the season remains the win over Ipswich Town. With the November international break now upon them, the pressure on the head coach will only grow over the next fortnight.
For Villa, the win — which came days after their Champions League defeat to Barcelona — lifts Emery’s side to eighth on 15 points. Taylor Harwood-Bellis marked his Premier League debut in the Villa defence, while Jackson’s early strike took him to six league goals for the season.
United had woken up in the relegation zone on Sunday morning, and this result means they will spend the international break there. The defeat came a day after Nottingham Forest stunned Manchester City 3-1, and hours after Crystal Palace’s 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool left the Eagles bottom of the table.
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Photos: Wikimedia Commons — John McGinn (CC BY 4.0, u/reepers_hellcat); Old Trafford aerial (CC BY-SA 3.0 de, Arne Müseler) — collage by SportsBuddy.
