An early Scott McTominay goal handed Manchester United a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round.
Manchester United were back in action in the FA Cup, hoping to return to good form after a lacklustre display in the league against Wolves. Rangnick opted to make five changes to the starting lineup today, with an anticipated return for Victor Lindelof, who was out following a COVID scare for recent games.
Early into the game, it was clear that United were set up in the fan favourite 4-2-3-1 shape, in spite of failed attempts to play a 4-2-2-2 system.
First corner of the game was cleared away with ease by the away side, but it only went as far as Fred. He played it out to Mason Greenwood, who created space for the Brazilian once again. Fred swung a cross towards the edge of the six-yard box and McTominay’s head was the highest of the lot and he headed it home to make it 1-0 to United after eight minutes.
It appeared from kick-off that United were eager to utilise width in their play. At the other end of the pitch, Buendia managed to skip past the United defenders with very little struggle, the only thing that stopped him from scoring was his misplaced shot, which rolled past the far post.
John McGinn had a worrying amount of time just on the outside of the United box, allowing him to strike towards De Gea, however it was nicely saved by the Spaniard.
Mason Greenwood then picked up the ball in an inviting wide position, and proceeded to glide past his man, only to run out of space and blast a shot into the stands. At this point in the game, United were consistent in pressing from the front in an organised fashion, helping them create these chances.
Edinson Cavani stole the ball away from Villa on the half way line, initiating a counter attack with Bruno Fernandes charging the line. He found the Uruguayan once again with a healthy amount of space, yet unfortunately, his shot was parried away by Martinez quite easily.
Shortly before the half hour mark, Ollie Watkins got the better of Victor Lindelof in his first game back, as he gambled on a bouncing ball over the top. The crossbar was the lifeline in this situation as Watkins could not equalise for Villa despite being gifted the chance.
The game was halted for a short while as Diogo Dalot looked likely to be the first substitute of the night after going down with a foot issue with 10 minutes of the half remaining. He returned to the field not long after receiving treatment on the side.
A nice sequence of play from United ended with a long range effort from Luke Shaw, which raised the fans out of their seats, although Martinez tipped it over the bar for a corner.
As the half faded out, United looked to capitalise on a promising amount of chances, although the closest they came to a goal was with Bruno Fernandes’ outside-of-the boot effort flying over the bar on the stroke of half time.
Half time – Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa
The first real action of the second half got underway saw Aston Villa put the ball into the back of the net. A free kick by John McGinn reached Konsa, who headed it across the goal to Danny Ings, who had an easy tap into the net. After nearly four minutes of VAR intervention. the goal was disallowed for an illegal play from Jacob Ramsey, who blocked Edinson Cavani off the ball.
After their goal was disallowed, Aston Villa answered back with intense pressure and numerous chances, which left United on the back foot. Ollie Watkins had the ball in the back of the net again for Villa here but it was then disallowed as the initial ball into Ings was played whilst he was offside.
With the linesman hesitated to raise his flag, Victor Lindelof suffered a clash to the goalpost, injuring his knee in the build-up to Villa’s offside goal and had to leave the pitch momentarily.
Fred received United’s first booking of the night in the 65th minute for putting in a wild leg to bring down Douglas Luiz.
A spectacular move from Villa which saw the away side move the ball around brilliantly was halted by Luke Shaw, who brought down his man, only to see a yellow card.
It was worrying from United, who were clinging onto their lead as Villa dominated the possession. United had only seen 37 percent of the possession at this point. This frustration led to another booking for United, as Dalot received a caution for a foul on Targett.
As United looked to solidify their lead, Donny Van De Beek entered the field in place of Edinson Cavani, who had pressed relentlessly all night.
Mason Greenwood had a chance to wrap up the game when he found acres of space in behind the Villa defence, but opted to go alone. An easy save for Martinez but the ball rebounded for Marcus Rashford in an inviting area, who had inexplicably stopped his run, allowing the goalkeeper to pick it up safely. He could have possibly reached the ball before Martinez had he continued.
Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford left the field with five minutes left to play to make way for Jesse Lingard and the young Anthony Elanga.
Luke Shaw appeared to catch Esri Konsa on the nose after a mix up on a Villa corner, which left the defender nursing a bloody nose, but it was accidental from Shaw and nothing was awarded.
The fourth official’s board indicated six extra minutes of play upon reaching the full ninety.
As the game petered out, United were happy for decisions to keep going their way as Villa posed very little threat.
In the end, United won the game with one goal, surviving strong pressure and play from an impressive Aston Villa, who had the ball in the back of the net twice. United will now go on to host the championship side Middlesbrough in the next round of the FA Cup.
Full time – Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa
Originally published for The United Stand.
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