Manchester United were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa and a Morgan Rogers masterclass at Villa Park, but Ruben Amorim’s players can hold their heads high after a spirited display.
United’s trip to Villa Park was a huge task for Amorim, with the Villains winning nine successive games and looking to close the gap to Arsenal at the top of the table back to three points. And the visitors would have been very happy with their work in the opening 44 minutes, limiting Villa to little and creating the best chances of the first-half.
Benjamin Sesko saw his one-on-one effort closed down quickly by Emi Martinez while Matheus Cunha forced the Argentine into a testing save from distance. Cunha also whipped an effort wide from outside the box in the opening stages and Bruno Fernandes saw a goal-bound shot deflected wide.
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But Amorim’s half-time team talk changed after a piece of magic from Morgan Rogers. The England international was allowed to bring the ball down as Leny Yoro failed to close down the in-form forward.
Driving inside from the left, Yoro couldn’t get close to Rogers as he unleashed a venomous strike into the far top corner on the stroke of half-time.
However, United deservedly levelled just minutes later when Patrick Dorgu pounced on slack play from Matt Cash on the edge of the Villa box to play in Cunha, who whipped a powerful effort past Martinez and into the far corner deep in first-half stoppage time.
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United dominated the ball and were assured in possession, even if Manuel Ugarte threatened that at times. The Uruguayan’s United career was given a lifeline at Villa Park when he named in the starting line-up for the first time since the Brentford defeat in September.
With Casemiro suspended, Kobbie Mainoo looked set to make his first start of the season after a tumultuous week where his half-brother wore a ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ t-shirt to Old Trafford. But the 20-year-old wasn’t involved in the squad with Amorim saying he picked up an injury.
Amorim’s issues were compounded in the worst possible way as Bruno Fernandes had to be withdrawn at half-time after picking up an injury.
The Portuguese boss opted to bring Lisandro Martinez on to play centre midfield. A decision that saw United’s best creative player replaced by a defender. Instead Amorim could have introduced Joshua Zirkzee and dropped Mason Mount back into midfield.
Amorim’s defensive switch was made to pay when Morgan Rogers put Villa back in front in the 57th minute. And after Ugarte was booked, Amorim decided to bring on academy midfielder Jack Fletcher, son of Red Devils legend Darren Fletcher, for his debut with just less than 20 minutes to play.
Shea Lacey also made his long-awaited first-team debut in the 83rd minute having been an unused substitute in four of the last five games. The 18-year-old’s introduction for Leny Yoro saw Martinez drop back to centre-back as Amorim switched to a back four in the hope of rescuing a point.
United still continued to create, with Cunha missing a golden chance to equalise for the second time in the game as he missed the target with a header just three yards from goal. Mason Mount’s late free-kick landed on the roof of the net as the visitors fell just short on the day despite putting in a promising performance.
The defeat means United remain in 7th, three points behind Chelsea in 4th. Aston Villa have closed the gap back to Arsenal at the top of the table to just three points.