Manchester United clashed heads with Aston Villa at Old Trafford earlier tonight hoping to secure maximum points so that they can close the gap to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table. The Red Devils made a bright start to the game and got themselves ahead in the 40th minute courtesy of Anthony Martial’s goal which gave them a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time.
However, the Villans responded positively and found the equaliser via Bertrand Traore’s finish from close range in the 58th minute. Just three minutes later, Man United were awarded a soft penalty which Bruno Fernandes converted to put his team ahead on the night yet again. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men hung on to grab a hard-fought 2-1 win after the full-time whistle.
Let’s take a look at how each Man United player performed during the clash against the Villans.
GK: David de Gea – 7.5/10
The Spanish keeper made quite a few world-class saves to keep his side ahead in the second half. Solskjaer will be happy with his performance tonight.
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 8/10
The ex-Crystal Palace full-back didn’t put a foot wrong in the game defensively and got himself an assist as well for setting up Anthony Martial’s goal in the first half.
CB: Harry Maguire – 6.5/10
The English defender was a bit shaky at times but did enough to see out the three points in the end.
CB: Eric Bailly – 7/10
Bailly was not shy of clearing his lines when required and even made a match-saving block right at the death to deny Keinan Davis an equaliser.
LB: Luke Shaw – 7/10
The Man United full-back made quite a few driving runs with the ball but lacked the cutting edge in the final third. However, he performed his defensive duties well during the 90 minutes.
CM: Fred – 6.5/10
The Brazilian midfield ace linked up well with his teammates in the opposition half but was guilty of committing too many cheap fouls during the game.
CM: Paul Pogba – 7/10
The French international distributed the ball with a lot of conviction and was responsible for earning a soft penalty in the second half, which ended up deciding the game.
CM: Scott McTominay – 6/10
McTominay worked hard to disrupt the rhythm of the Villa attacks but ran of gas and got replaced in the second half.
CAM: Bruno Fernandes – 7.5/10
The Portuguese playmaker kept his calm to convert the penalty, which ended up deciding the fate of this contest. He caused many problems for the Villans defenders and probably should have added a few more goals with the chances he had.
ST: Marcus Rashford – 7/10
The English attacker squandered a few opportunities but was a real threat on the counter. His pace gave the Villa defenders a lot of headaches but he will be disappointed for not registering a goal.
ST: Anthony Martial – 8/10
The French striker was always looking for a chance in the final third and gave a good account of himself in the first half. He showed his killer instincts by scoring a poacher’s goal in the 40th minute. However, he didn’t get too many chances in the second 45 minutes.
Substitutes:
CM: Nemanja Matic – 5/10
He was often slow to the ball and made some clumsy challenges.
CAM: Daniel James – N/A
James had very little time to make an impact.
CB: Axel Tuanzebe – N/A
He came off the bench to run the clock down for his team.
