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Manchester United beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday to strengthen their Champions League hopes. Bruno Fernandes scored the only goal of the game in the 39th minute, as Villa's seven-match unbeaten run came to an end.
The Red Devils started the game stronger but were constantly getting caught offside, thanks to Villa's high defensive line. Rashford finally managed to break the offside trap in the closing stages of the opening stanza, timing his run perfectly to connect with Casemiro's cross. Although his attempt was saved by Emiliano Martinez, Fernandez raced in to shoot the loose ball home.
United huffed and puffed for a second after the break, but it never came, while Victor Lindelof denied Villa a way back into the game by heading Douglas Luiz's shot off the line in the 81st minute.
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The hosts remain fourth with 63 points and have a game in hand over third-placed Newcastle United. Villa, meanwhile, slip to seventh as their European hopes took a massive blow.
On that note, here are the five talking points from the game:
#5 Victor Lindelof steps up to the plate
With Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez absent, Manchester United fans were plausibly worried about their defensive shape against the in-form Aston Villa side, who were looking for their first league double over United since the 1954-55 season.
Victor Lindelof, though, allayed those fears with a heroic performance in defenc. That was highlighted by an off-the-line clearance nine minutes from time, denying Villa a way back into the game.
The Swede demonstrated excellent positional awareness and reading of the game, making four clearances and one interception, while also keeping Villa hitman Ollie Watkins at bay.
His best moment of the game, though, came with only nine minutes of normal time remaining. Douglas Luiz saw a shot headed off the line by Lindelof, who single-handedly rescued two points for his team.
#4 Aston Villa's high line backfires
Aston Villa maintained a high line at Old Trafford and sought to frustrate Manchester United. They succeeded to some extent, as the hosts were caught offside six times.
However, the ploy backfired in the 39th minute when Marcus Rashford broke forward to connect with an excellent long ball from Casemiro. His shot was parried away by Martinez, but Fernandes came rushing in to latch on to the loose ball and fire into the far corner.
Till the opening half an hour or so, Villa executed their high line to perfection, as United's attacking vanguard struggled to time their runs to perfection and getting called out for offside. However, it all changed in one moment of a perfectly timed run from Rashford, who broke the offside trap.
#3 Fernandes comes back to haunt Villa
Bruno Fernandes has struggled to score this season, netting only five times in the Premier League coming into this game. However, he found the net against Villa.
It comes as no surprise, though, for those who've kept a close eye on his scoring record against top-flight teams. Villa have always been his favourite, netting six goals in seven appearances.
He made that seven in eight on Sunday, as there's something about the club that kicks Fernandes on. Against no other team has he scored more in his club career, with Leeds United being next on the list with six goals from as many appearances.
#2 Unai Emery's unbeaten record against Manchester United ends
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery lost to Manchester United for the first time in the Premier League, having gone the previous four games unbeaten.
As Arsenal manager in the 2018-19 season, he saw a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford before his Gunners side picked up a 2-0 win at home in the reverse. In the next season, before his sacking, he saw a 1-1 draw in Manchester.
In November last year, the Spaniard led Villa to a 3-1 win at home before his unbeaten run against United ended on Sunday.
For the first in the Premier League, Emery ended up on the losing side against United, who narrowly beat them. It could've got extended to five, but Emiliano Buendia fired a great chance straight at De Gea, while Luiz saw a shot headed off the line.
#1 Manchester United on cusp of Champions League return
With a fourth win in five Premier League games, Manchester United have been on a roll lately and are on the cusp of sealing a UEFA Champions League return.
The Red Devils are fourth with 63 points from 32 games, just two behind third-placed Newcastle United, and have a game in hand. With Tottenham, Liverpool and Aston Villa way behind, it seems like no one catch them now, and it's only a matter of time before United confirm their Champions League qualification.
It will be their first appearance in the competition since the 2021-22 season, when they were beaten in the Round of 16 by Atletico Madrid. It will be interesting to see how Manchester United fare under Ten Hag, who will oversee his first campaign in the competition as their manager.
