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Manchester United beat Aston Villa at a canter but controversial penalty helps them on their way

Sam Wallace
·18 min read
Aston Villa vs Manchester United, Premier League: live score and latest updates  - Marc Aspland
Aston Villa vs Manchester United, Premier League: live score and latest updates - Marc Aspland

By the end of the night Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reborn Manchester United may well have crushed Aston Villa regardless of the decision dealt by the fickle eye of the video assistant monitors, but the relegation strugglers will always wonder if it might have been different.

They never seemed to recover from the penalty call given against them in the first half – the like of which the concept of Var was surely created to correct in the hopeful days that preceded its introduction.

Yet when the moment came, the big Var screen in the empty Villa Park only offered referee Jonathan Moss its validation. For Villa, the penalty won and converted by Bruno Fernandes, whose chief ­contribution to it all was standing on the leg of defender Ezri Konsa, was a blow from which they never recovered.

On the club’s official Twitter feed a picture of the moment of contact was posted, accompanied by the pondering face emoji, although if one was to describe Dean Smith’s face in the minutes following the decision it would be right to say there was much less equivocation.

After that, United were excellent in the seventh win of a 10-game ­unbeaten run that has transformed their season if not their league ­position. When they were jeered by their own fans at Old Trafford on Jan 22 having lost to Burnley, United were fifth, which is where they are with four games left to play, albeit within one point of fourth-placed Leicester City.

Aston Villa's English defender Ezri Konsa (L) concedes a penalty fo this challenge on Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes  - AFP
Aston Villa's English defender Ezri Konsa (L) concedes a penalty fo this challenge on Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes - AFP

There was another goal from ­Mason Greenwood, his 16th of the season, hit with a force that will make defenders wonder whether they dare let this 18-year-old swing a boot anywhere in range. He is only the second teenager after Wayne Rooney to score in three consecutive Premier League games.

Overall, United make sense again: a hustle to their attacking trio that creates opportunities and a steady hand in midfield, from where Paul Pogba stroked home the third of the night.

For Smith this may have been a game from which he never ­expected a return, but all the same, the decision of Var Graham Scott to award the Fernandes penalty means that the clouds refuse to part for Villa. They go into their last four league games with just two points from the previous 10. Even Bournemouth are above them now in the table with the gap to 17th four points for Villa. A team so hastily ­assembled last summer looks like it has lost what little faith it had.

By half-time, United’s forward line had found its aggression and was picking its moments to ­counter-attack – the second goal a marvellous piece of opportunism, clinically finished by Greenwood. But there was a point in the first half when Villa had their tails up, the better chances were theirs and then with the award of that penalty the game changed.

It was a bad original call by Moss, a situation made much worse by the decision by Scott to allow the penalty to stand. In real time it looked like it might just meet the threshold. Fernandes ran on to the ball and then, placing a foot on top of it, with Konsa coming in to challenge him, attempted to spin through 360º. There was contact with the Villa defender. But what was the contact?

That is the examination of detail that Var allows, a consideration of whose impact affected who in those collisions that take place in the blink of an eye. It was unquestionably Fernandes’s right boot coming down on the right ankle of Konsa that was the meaningful engagement between the two players.

Yet this crucial part seemed to be missed, first by Moss and then by Scott. Hard to say how. Fernandes dispatched the ball past Pepe Reina from the penalty spot and the game changed.

Before then Villa had worked United hard, chasing down the spaces that Harry Maguire and ­Victor Lindelof tried to pass the ball into and the away side struggled to move out from their own half. The Egyptian Trezeguet pinched the ball from Pogba after 26 minutes and strode forward to dispatch a shot that clipped David de Gea’s left post. Jack Grealish, for whom there are hopes of a move to Old Trafford, had a chance at the back post on his left foot from which he should have scored.

A goal behind and the game changed – for a team like Villa it must have felt familiar. Grealish struggled to make an impact and John McGinn would be substituted before the end. Tyrone Mings was caught out badly in the centre of the pitch, where Anthony Martial forced him off the ball and United counter-attacked. Greenwood ­supplied a fearsome finish.

The Pogba goal came from Fernandes’s corner. The Frenchman picked his spot beautifully. United are now the first team since Liverpool in 1987 to win four consecutive top-flight games by a margin of three or more goals. As for Villa, by the end they were nowhere and Smith was making substitutions with Sunday’s game against Crystal Palace in mind. If they are going to survive then they surely have to win that one.

09:11 PM

FT: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

United slow to get going tonight, but once they were ahead it was never in doubt. Greenwood outshone Martial and Rashford tonight, but the healthy competition between the front three is driving themselves and their team on to greater heights. They are certainly looking like a Champions League team. 

09:08 PM

91 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

Fantastic diagonal run off the ball from Rashford, matched by a through ball from Poga, but Reina saves well with his feet. This could have been much worse for Villa. 

09:06 PM

89 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

United threatening a fourth, this time it's through Luke Shaw on the overlap. Nice reverse pass from Rashford to find him, but Shaw's low cross was cut out. 

09:02 PM

85 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

Villa enjoying some pressure deep in the United half but it is all too little, too late. Grealish's delivery has not been up to snuff at set-pieces tonight. Not the game he was dreaming of against a team rumoured to be interested in him. 

08:59 PM

83 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

That was probably Villa's best move as they pick out Hourihane with a cut-back. Lindelof did well to block and De Gea claimed the corner. 

08:58 PM

81 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

Rashford tries to get his goal for the night with a free-kick, but he gets far too much height on it and it flies over the bar. 

08:55 PM

79 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

Martial and Greenwood are the players coming off, replaced by Dan James and Ighalo. Martial does not look too pleased to be coming off, the face of man realising he has failed to score against Aston Villa. 

08:53 PM

77 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

The game has slowed to walking pace, all too easy for United to move the ball forward through midfield. Odioin Ighalo about to come on. 

08:52 PM

74 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

Crystal Palace, Everton, Arsenal and West Ham are Villa's final four games of the season. That next fixture is looking pivotal now. 

08:48 PM

72 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

Bruno Fernandes gets to rest his legs for the last 20 minutes. Fred replaces him. 

08:46 PM

Drinks!

Villa might be thinking about preserving their goal difference now. 

08:45 PM

69 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

Cruise control for United, and the encouraging thing for Solskjaer is this has probably been their weakest performance since lockdown. There is so, so much talent in their front five that they are capable of blowing at least half of the Premier League away. 

08:42 PM

66 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

Matic and Wan-Bissaka off, replaced by McTominay and Williams. 

08:42 PM

64 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

United ready to make changes. Villa fans will be pleased to see Solskjaer rest the legs of some of his big guns. Grealish tries to cut inside and shoot with his right foot but gets no bend. 

08:40 PM

Keane not too impressed with Villa's defending

08:38 PM

61 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

They might need to change the lightbulbs in the scoreboard. This time Martial gets in behind down the left channel and cracks a shot across goal that bounces down off the crossbar. 

08:36 PM

59 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 3

Hourihane and Nakamba on for Villa, surely only a matter of time before Manchester United make changes of their own. 

08:35 PM

GOOOOAAAALL! Pogba places one

That is game over. A corner pops out to Pogba 25 yards from goal, Villa and Grealish in particular are too slow to close him down, and he bends one around the Villa defenders into the bottom corner. Reina did not even dive. 

08:32 PM

55 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 2

Villa do work the ball forward well, but McGinn's side foot shot from just outside the penalty area is straight at De Gea. Moments later, Pogba turn home a Rashford drive across goal but the midfielder was flagged offside. 

08:28 PM

52 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 2

Reina comes and catches a United corner but the fight looks to have gone out of Villa. They need to pinch a goal out of nothing and hope it rouses them. Konsa booked for pulling back Rashford. 

08:26 PM

49 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 2

Wan-Bissaka was so close to his first United goal. Martial picked him out with a wonderful clipped cross to the back post but he headed wide from just a few yards out. 

08:25 PM

47 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 2

Villa swing a cross in looking for Samatta, and Maguire looked to have his arm across him but Moss is unomved. VAR has a look, but nothing given. 

08:22 PM

We're back under way!

Villa get us started, but it would need something miraculous to turn this around. 

08:10 PM

Greenwood's goal

08:07 PM

HT: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 2

Villa will feel they were dealt an injustice with the penalty, but another moment of brilliance from Greenwood may have put the game beyond them. 

08:06 PM

GOOOAAALLL! Greenwood with a rasping finish

Fernandes sets Greenwood away down the right, you think he is going to cut in on his left and shoot but he squares for Martial. The young forward stays where he is and receives a return pass from Martial and from just outside the area, he drills a shot past Reina with his 'weaker' right foot.

08:03 PM

48 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 1

Matic catches Grealish on the stretch, and gets a booking for his trouble. 

08:03 PM

46 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 1

There are four minutes of stoppage time. A Villa free-kick comes to nothing and United very nearly counter from one end of the pitch to the other but Fernandes' pass it too heavy. 

08:01 PM

44 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 1

You were just waiting for the net to bulge. Shaw and Martial play a one two and the left-back stands up a great cross that is met by Fernandes with a free header dead central, eight yards out of so. He headed wide when he looked certain to score. 

07:58 PM

42 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 1

Hause intercepts a Fernandes pass, who was looking to play in Rashford, Then Grealish is robbed by Matic in central midfield. Far from United's most impressive half in recent weeks but they are now quite comfortable. 

07:54 PM

38 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 1

United growing ever more dangerous, and this time it's Rashford who goes down too easily looking for a penalty. Villa bench is furious. McGinn was deemed fit and able to carry on. 

07:53 PM

36 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 1

Villa have not reacted too well to going behind, and Greenwood goes close to double United's lead. Drifts into a lovely pocket of space and tries to pull  a shot back across Reina, but the shot lacked power. 

07:49 PM

32 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 1

Worrying signs for Villa as McGinn goes down with some kind of interesting. The more you look at the penalty, the more like simulation it seems. Fernandes has engineered the contact. 

07:45 PM

The penalty incident

07:45 PM

28 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 1

There will be debates about that one. Fernandes was quick witted to put his foot on the ball, but he actually ends up turning his back and standing on the defender. Clever or devious? 

07:43 PM

GOAL! United lead

Slightly against the run of play, Fernandes sends Reina the wrong way. 

07:42 PM

Penalty United!

The ball broke free at the edge of the box, Fernandes did a little drag back and stopped himself dead. Konsa's momentum took him into Fernandes and Moss pointed to the spot. 

07:41 PM

25 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 0

Pogba caught on the ball this time, and Trezeguet is running straight at the United back four. Opens up his body at the edge of the D and tries to curl a shot with his right instep to De Gea's left. It clips the foot of the post and bounces wide. Another good moment for Villa. 

07:38 PM

Drinks!

Aston Villa will be pleased with their first quarter. A few dangerous crosses, and they are not giving United too much space to exploit. 

07:37 PM

22 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 0

Martial tries to knock a pass through to Fernandes, but Mings gets across to usher the ball behind. Reina yet to be tested in the Villa goal, but you sense that will change before too long. 

07:35 PM

20 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 0

You struggle to beat Wan-Bissaka with a dribble, but Villa look to be targeting his back post defending on crosses. Three of four ball swung in deep from the right have had United scrambling. Then they get bodies around Rashford to halt a counter attack. Good stuff from the hosts. 

07:34 PM

18 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 0

Douglas Luiz gets himself free at the back post, and heads off the back of Wan-Bissaka for a corner. Grealish over it from the left, but De Gea punches clear. 

In the next phase of play, Konsa swings a deep cross in from the right that Grealish meets on the volley at the back post...but with his left foot it skews high and wide. Needed to guide it across goal. 

07:32 PM

16 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 0

Good passage of play from Villa enables Grealish to pick the ball up in the No.10 position, but again a final ball or cross is lacking. Villa will not be too displeased by their start. 

07:29 PM

13 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 0

Villa look compact and well organised, although you get the impression creating a clear cut chance or two could prove difficult. United stroking the ball around but not really stretching Villa at all so far. 

07:26 PM

10 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 0

That was promising for Villa. Matic caught on the ball deep in his own half, and Fernandes has to scramble and recover at the cost of a foul. Luiz's free-kick deflects off the wall. Villa stay in United's half and will whip another ball in after a foul on Grealish by Matic. Samatta went for it at the front post, and caught Rashford on the foot. 

07:23 PM

7 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 0

Rashford and Luke Shaw pin El Ghazi to the touchline, but the Villa winger wins a throw. Douglas Luiz clips a ball into the United box, trying to  pick out the run of Trezeguet, but Lindelof gets across to head behind. McGinn over the corner but Fernandes heads clear. 

07:21 PM

5 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 0

Fernandes picks out an incisive forward pass to Rashford, who fails to make the most of a good position between the lines. Villa dropping into their shape without the ball, it looks like a 4-4-2 defensive shape. Samatta strays offside and is flagged. 

07:18 PM

2 minutes: Aston Villa 0 Manchester United 0

United settling into some comfortable possession across their back four, but are yet to make a serious foray into the Villa half in the first few minutes. They do break out through Wan-Bissaka though who feeds Greenwood, but the forward fails to pick out a United shirt in the box. 

07:16 PM

KICK-OFF!

Manchester United get us started, but Villa snap into an early challenge and play long. 

07:14 PM

Players are on their way out

Manchester United in their scaly gold changed strip tonight. Shades of the reversible away kit from 2001-2. 

07:08 PM

Can Villa turn performances into points?

Dean Smith said he saw plenty of positives in Villa's display at Anfield but they have a job of work ahead of them to get a win tonight. Villa will need to be tight and perhaps a little cautious when in possession, because United have the players to shred teams on the break. 

06:16 PM

Manchester United name an unchanged team

06:15 PM

Aston Villa team and subs:

03:14 PM

A happy hunting ground for Man Utd

A different Aston Villa have returned from lockdown: more circumspect in their defensive approach and happier going direct, but so far this new-found pragmatism has not delivered results. 

Dean Smith's team were solid but ultimately toothless at home to Wolves before being squeezed out by Liverpool at Anfield where they gave a good account of themselves, but now need to deliver victories as they sit four points from safety in the relegation zone. 

The good news is Jack Grealish and Tyrone Mings are expected to overcome minor niggles to face Manchester United tonight, the bad news is...well, they are facing Manchester United. After three consecutive wins with 11 goals scored, United are looking like the league's most formidable attacking force bar Liverpool and Man City. They have an excellent record at Villa Park historically, and another victory will take to within a point of third with four games remaining. 

Even in the post-Ferguson wilderness years, United have always possessed dangerous forwards. The difference now that they have rhythm and technical quality in the middle of the pitch to supply those forwards and offer the team control of matches. Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba look to have a natural understanding, while Nemanja Matic has been a surprisingly good foil for them and has enjoyed something of a resurgence. Fernandes has been directly involved in 11 goals in his nine Premier League matches, scoring six and assisting five.

Mason Greenwood looks like scoring, or at least going pretty damn close, with every shot he takes with defenders and goalkeepers struggling to read the two-footed 18-year-old. Marcus Rashford has perhaps played second fiddle to Greenwood and Anthony Martial in their last few games, but now would be a good time for him to regain his best form. United also have an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea coming up. Team news on the way.