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In a closely-fought game in the 2020-21 Premier League at Old Trafford, Manchester United edged out Aston Villa 2-1, thanks to a second-half penalty from Bruno Fernandes. The win puts Manchester United in second place in the Premier League - level on points with leaders Liverpool - while Aston Villa slip to sixth.
The game was a back-and-forth one from the off, with both sides attacking the other with purpose before Manchester United opened the scoring late in the first half. Anthony Martial strode ahead of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa to head home, but Villa hit back early in the second.
A poorly marked free-kick allowed Jack Grealish to send a beautiful cross into the Manchester United box, and Bertrand Traore was on hand to slide the ball home. Just three minutes later though, Manchester United moved ahead again from the penalty spot following a foul by Douglas Luiz on Paul Pogba.
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On that note, let us have a look at five talking points from Manchester United’s win over Aston Villa.
#1 Manchester United are emerging as darkhorses for the Premier League title
The win over Aston Villa was Manchester United’s eighth in their last ten games. They are now level with Liverpool at the top of the table and haven’t been beaten since their loss to Arsenal on November 1st.
So can Manchester United really win the 2020-21 Premier League title?
Based on their performance against Aston Villa, the answer has to be no. Manchester United were largely outplayed by Villa for swathes of the game and had to do backs-to-the-wall defending; the goal they did concede was because of terrible defending.
Sure, there were a handful of excellent chances that Manchester United did miss – Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saved brilliantly from Bruno Fernandes in the second half. However, overall the game was an even one, and Manchester United certainly didn’t look like champions elect.
Nevertheless, United do seem to have got into the habit of winning matches without playing well and having a recognisable tactical style.
It’d arguably be a sad indictment of the Premier League if a side like Manchester United were to win the title – they’re essentially relying on the brilliance of individuals and little more – but stranger things have happened.
#2 Manchester United won the game off a contentious penalty
When referee Michael Oliver awarded Manchester United a penalty for Douglas Luiz’s foul on Paul Pogba, there wasn’t much argument from Aston Villa’s players. VAR did check the incident, and it didn’t take long to confirm the spot-kick, which was duly converted by Bruno Fernandes.
However, was it really a foul worthy of a penalty? In reality, it was an incredibly soft call. Luiz essentially held Pogba’s arm for a split second, and as he let go, the Frenchman tumbled to the ground.
Interestingly, later in the match, Ezri Konsa grabbed Pogba in a much more physical manner – but this time, the midfielder shrugged the Villa player off and stayed on his feet.
There’s no disputing that nine times out of ten, a penalty is awarded for the kind of challenge Luiz made on Pogba. In fact, Eric Dier was penalised for a very similar challenge on Pogba when Tottenham played Manchester United last June.
Modern-day Premier League stars probably shouldn’t go down under such circumstances. However, the reason they do so is because referees never seem to spot fouls unless a player hits the ground. That in turn allows for soft penalties like the one Manchester United won the game off.
#3 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might have stumbled upon the best use of Paul Pogba
Ever since Bruno Fernandes arrived at Manchester United a year ago, questions have been asked over whether the Portuguese international can play in the same side as Paul Pogba. United have been largely successful since that point, but outside of some odd flashes, Pogba has struggled.
Things came to a head last month when the Frenchman’s agent Mino Raiola seemingly attempted to begin to engineer the player's exit from Old Trafford. However, since then, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done something interesting.
Rather than freeze Pogba out from the Manchester United team, the Norwegian re-integrated him into his starting XI, and against Aston Villa, Solskjaer used the Frenchman in a position further forward than usual.
The move seemed to work well for Pogba, as he was involved in most of Manchester United’s best moments of the game. The player won five aerial duels – more than any other player on the pitch – played two key passes, and interestingly, did his defensive duties too with a number of successful tackles and interceptions.
It seems that Solskjaer has found a way to ensure that both Pogba and Fernandes can be effective in the same side. If that’s indeed the case, as it appears to be, Manchester United will be better off for it.
#4 Aston Villa are let down by their set-piece deliveries
On another day, Aston Villa could have certainly taken at least a point from the game. They matched Manchester United for possession, had 15 shots on goal to their opponents’ 19, and at times, cut swathes through the hosts' defence.
However, one area that let Villa down massively was their set-piece deliveries. Dean Smith’s side had ten corners as well as 22 free-kicks, but outside of a clever free-kick for their goal, were unable to do anything with them.
In one such instance, Bertrand Traore won a free-kick in an excellent position on the edge of the box on the right hand side. That looked like a gilt-edged chance – but Traore skied the dead-ball over the bar, much to the chagrin of his captain Jack Grealish.
To add insult to injury, Manchester United then scored their opening goal moments after David de Gea’s goal kick.
Villa are a side who are always going to gain plenty of dead-balls thanks to Grealish’s ability to win free-kicks; so, they have to start doing more with them. Perhaps when Ross Barkley returns to action, or if Smith recalls Conor Hourihane, Villa might improve in this area.
#5 Aston Villa do not look likely to be relegated this season
Considering that they were playing against Manchester United, a team that has been totuted as potential title contenders, it would’ve been hard to believe that Aston Villa only stayed in the Premier League by the skin of their teeth last season.
Dean Smith’s side matched the Red Devils for the full 90 minutes and were hugely unlucky to come away with nothing from the game. The loss was Villa’s first since November 30th, and the only team to really outplay them this season is Leeds United.
So where does Villa’s ceiling lie during the 2020-21 campaign? The start of the season would’ve seen Villa fans content with remaining in the Premier League again, but it seems like at worst, the club could contend for a Europa League spot.
Plenty of fuss has been made around Smith’s recruitment. But that’s fair, as Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Bertrand Traore and Ollie Watkins have been largely impressive, and Smith's tactics also deserve a lot of praise. The likes of Matt Targett, Ezri Konsa and Anwar El Ghazi now look like completely different players as well this season.
Overall, Villa are clearly the Premier League’s most improved side, and it’ll be fascinating to see how far they could go this season. Going by their performance against United, they may not feature in a relegation battle this campaign.
