Manchester United drew with Aston Villa in the Premier League clash at Villa Park. Pivotal in the 2-2 draw, debutant Philippe Coutinho came from the bench to help Aston Villa salvage a point providing an assist and a goal.
Here are the five things learned from Aston Villa vs Manchester United
1. Elanga impresses
Getting his first start this season, Anthony Elanga capitalised on the opportunity and was a constant threat. Chosen over Jadon Sancho had four attempts on goal and had his fair share of defending, linking up well with Alex Telles.
When asked if Elanga would be favored ahead of Sancho, Ralf had this to say,” We have so many games to play that I’m not thinking who is ahead of whom. It was today decision to play Elanga from the start but it could be different in the next game.”
2. There is a need to use our number 9
Edinson Cavani was lost in much of the game with little to do, a common theme at United most of this season. The wingers prefer to shoot narrow rather than squaring the ball in the box. Although Greenwood and Elanga had a great game, they were stained with such instances in good areas.
3. Desperate for a Defensive Midfielder
Fred and Matic continued to look unconvincing, and I doubt Scott McTominay would have positively impacted yesterday’s game. In the first half, Manchester United controlled much of the game, but things were not looking good in the second. Matic doesn’t have the legs to play a full 90min + added time, and Fred was okay getting forward and shaky defensively.
4. Feels like a loss
Bottling a two-nil lead sure felt like a loss, no doubt but that was some of the best football under Rangnick. The German coach doesn’t settle for okay that includes a draw in a game that Manchester was winning.
Judged on a higher standard compared to the previous manager, and so, this is what Rangnick had to say about the game, “It is very difficult to find positives after these 95 minutes. I felt it was the best game since I came here, in the first half for 30 minutes, when we dominated the game. We had taken some step forward but had a few things to do better.”
He went further on to say, ”We gave way too many balls at times in the last 15 minutes, we were not so compact as before and conceded the two goals. In the last 15 minutes before half time we were not courageous to step up, it was better in the second half and then you have to take the three points home. It feels like a defeat, to be honest.”
5. United players run out of steam.
United players failed to put a convincing full 90 minutes performance in the poor second half. The mentality to hold on to the 2-0 advantage was lacking. The late substitutions to bring in Sancho, Donny and Lingard clearly did not impact the game.
