Aston Villa battled well, but couldn't withstand Manchester United's attack as they lost at Old Trafford.
Manchester United were given a stronger test than they may have expected from a struggling Aston Villa side, but thanks to two wonderful goals, they emerged 3-1 winners on the day. The win allows United to keep pace with Arsenal, and with a fortunate result on Monday could even see them surpass rival Manchester City in the table, which would be a huge result for Louis Van Gaals' side.
Things got off to a very contentious start almost right off the bat when an early ball over the top for Manchester seemed to find Wayne Rooney in the box, but contact from Ciaran Clark held Rooney up and let the Aston Villa defender get the ball away. No penalty was given, though, despite fierce protests from United, and Villa were able to weather the early storm United tried to throw their way.
The match largely bogged down after that, with neither side able to break through each others' determined defenses. Manchester had the better of the chances and had 10 first half shots, but could only get four of them on-frame, most of which came late in the half. One of those was finally able to break the deadlock, though, when Ander Herrera managed to find a crack between three defenders and fired the ball past Brad Guzan to give United a 1-0 lead just minutes before the half.
Aston Villa tried to push for an equalizer early in the second half, but their best chance went for naught. A lovely combination in the box between Christian Benteke and Andi Weimann saw the Austrian pull the ball back to Benteke in space, but the big striker seemed to lose his footing as he tried to shoot. Instead of hammering the ball in to the back of the net, Benteke fell over as he struck, sending the ball well over the bar.
Villa's initial positive spell wore away relatively quickly as their energy started to fade, and Manchester United comfortably took control of the match again. They were able to dominate possession and squeeze the pace of the match to a point that allowed them to easily dictate play, keeping Aston Villa easily at bay. They were comfortable working the ball around to wait for an opening, and when they found it, Rooney took full advantage with a stunning half-volley that sent Old Trafford in to rapturous cheers.
The goal was Rooney's 15th in all competitions against Aston Villa, bringing him level with Frank Lampard as the two men to score the most goals against the Birmingham club. But that record and the two goal lead left United a little complacent, though, with Villa quickly racing up the pitch and finding a goal, with Benteke being given far too much space on a corner and mercilessly punishing Manchester for the folly. The goal came just 94 seconds after Rooney's wonderstrike, and it was also terribly misplayed by United goalkeeper David De Gea, leaving Manchester in a bit of a lurch as the match drew to a close.
Fortunately for United, they were able to withstand the remaining pressure Villa tried to apply. They even found a third in stoppage time, sending Aston Villa spiraling further in to their misery despite their brave performance. With other results going against them this weekend, Villa are finding themselves slipping closer to the relegation zone with fewer chances left to pull themselves out of it, while United have only made their claim on a top four spot much stronger.
Manchester United : De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Blind; Mata, Herrera, Carrick, Fellaini (Falcao 77'), Young (Di Maria 70'); Rooney
Goals: Herrera (43', 90'+2), Rooney (79')
Aston Villa: Guzan; Hutton (Bacuna 46'), Okore, Clark, Lowton; N'Zogbia (Baker 60'), Sanchez, Delph, Weimann (Cole 77'); Agbonlahor, Benteke
Goal: Benteke (80')
Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1GchWP1
No comments:
Post a Comment