In the 22nd round of the Premier League, Manchester United played a away challenge to Aston Villa, Bruno Fernandez scored a goal in the first and second half, but the two-goal leading Red Devils missed a good game, and were passed by Ramsey and Coutinho within 5 minutes, and finally drew 2-2. Unable to win this game, Manchester United remain in the 7th place in the Premier League.
The two teams met in the FA Cup this week, with United winning by one goal, and Compared to that game, Lonnick made three changes to the starting line-up. The goalkeeper is also De Gea, with Diaugu Dalo, Lindlerv, Varane and Tres forming a defensive line, with Fred, Nemanja Matic and captain Fernandez joining the midfield, and Mason Greenwood, Erlanga and Cavani taking the lead.
Ace Cristiano Ronaldo was not included in the squad and Lonnick confirmed he was sidelined with a hip flexor injury and although he resumed training midweek, the injury then worsened.
"Cristiano's problem, unfortunately, he still has problems with his hip flexors." The Manchester United boss said, "He couldn't train on Friday and I made that decision after a conversation with him. He didn't feel fully recovered, so there was no need to go out and stay home for treatment, hoping he would make a comeback when he went to Brentford on Wednesday."
United's attack was in full swing in the first five minutes of the opening, with Erlanga and Tres on the left playing well, scoring two corners and two free kicks. In the second free-kick, United played a unique tactic, Tres flicked the ball, Fernandez took the ball and shot from a distance, Cavani pushed in front of the goal but did not touch the ball, goalkeeper Martinez was disturbed and made a low-level mistake, the ball leaked into the net from under his crotch, Manchester United led Villa 1-0.
Martinez complained about Cavani's offside interference, but the slow motion showed that United's striker was not offside, and his gift helped United score through a set-piece other than a penalty for the first time this season. This is the sixth time B Fei has scored outside the penalty area since landing in the Premier League, second only to Southampton's WardPlaus in the same period.
United's confidence grew after the opening record and they kept the advantage on the pitch, with Erlanga's header and Greenwood's volley threatening. Villa tried to play pass control but the pace was slow and United were very easy to cope with and created better chances with counter-attacks. Dalo broke through to win a free-kick on the right, and Tres and Greenwood shot consecutive shots almost extended the advantage.
The home team then increased their aggressiveness, forcing United to make frequent active mistakes, Villa began to create a killing chance, De Gea turned on the "daddy mode", successively saved Watkins push, Buendia's header and Dinier's small angle burst, to save the 1-0 score back to the dressing room.
United also grabbed the start of the second half, with Erlanga breaking the ball in front of him and then picking up a powerful shot from Cavani and being saved by the goalkeeper. Villa quickly returned the color, and De Gea first pounced on Jacob Ramsey's low shot, and then caught Buendia's long-range shot.
Villa right-back Rush made a mistake in a pass inside the penalty area, and Erlanga broke the ball with a low left-footed shot that deflected off the left upright. Fred instigated a counter-attack on the right and Greenwood took a low right-footed shot into the far corner of the penalty area, which also slid through the goal.
In the 67th minute, Villa gave another gift, Sansson made a mistake in returning the pass, Fred received the ball and sent an assist, Fernandez's powerful shot from inside the box bounced in, Manchester United 2-0 Villa.
B Fei played a flying penalty in stoppage time in the first leg of the two teams, and this time he successfully took revenge with a second chance. Since his debut in February 2020, Fernandez has scored 33 goals, second only to Salah's 45 and Harry Kane's 34.
Villa quickly replaced Brazilian star Coutinho, and the Brazilian did play a role. In the 77th minute, after teaming up with another substitute, Carney Chucubemeca, he broke into the box with the ball and crossed, Ramsey's low shot broke de Gea's goal, Villa 1-2 Manchester United.
Rangnick replaced Erlanga with Sancho, United suddenly collapsed and Villa scored another goal five minutes later to equalize. Buendia sent a cross from the left, Ramsey crossed from the left, Varane's tackle fell short and Coutinho pushed into the net at the back post, Villa 2-2 Manchester United. It was Coutinho's first time to break United's goal and teammate Ramsey also set a record, becoming the first Villa player to attack United with a single pass since Karoo in 2009.
In the final moments, Lonnick replaced Fernandez and Greenwood with Jesse Lingard and van der Beek to try to win the kill, van der Beek did find a good chance to shoot in the box, but was blocked out of the bottom line, and in the end United could only accept a 2-2 draw, scoring only 1 point.
Villa has always been Manchester United's number one "points boy", since the 3-1 defeat of Manchester United in the fledgling class of 92 in 1995, including this game, Villa has not won a single home game against the Red Devils in the last 23 Premier League games, with 8 draws and 15 losses, which is the longest winless stat between the two teams in the history of English football. United made 34 Premier League starts against Villa, with an unbeaten record of 32 wins and 2 draws, all of which are the highest in the tournament.
Sadly, after missing a two-goal lead, United once again brushed shoulders with the chance to become the premier League's first 100-win team, while Villa won their first draw since 17 Premier League games.
United's tactical problem is not Ronaldo alone, the root cause is that in addition to the Portuguese superstar, there are too many players who are not good at attacking and defending. In this game, Ronaldo was absent due to injury, Marcus Rashford hung up the exemption card due to illness, and Lonnick sent the youngster Elanga to become a surprise soldier.
The 19-year-old Swedish fast horse is active in attack, has a correct attitude when defending, faithfully implements tactics both offensively and defensively, and Edinson Cavani is equally desperate in the center position, often returning to the box to liberate Fred to strengthen the high pressing.
This also means that Manchester United only has a sticky ball player with low tactical awareness of no-ball tactics in the whole manchester United, so the overall level of forced shooting of Manchester United has increased significantly, and Villa has been caught off guard.
Coupled with Gerrard's cautious approach at the start, Villa advanced slowly, which was United's favorite rhythm of the game, and the whole team seized the opportunity to stand firm and take a two-goal lead. However, in terms of the general situation, Villa's overall attack is still more organized, and Manchester United's offensive threats mostly come from counter-attacks or opportunities brought by forcing the opponent to make mistakes.
The weakness of the defensive line, especially the imbalance between attack and defense at the back, eventually allowed United to swallow the bitter fruit. Fred frantically grabbed the goal, although he grabbed the goal opportunity, but once Villa crossed him, the back position was only Matic alone to defend; in addition, Greenwood did not defend, so that Dalo could only face the impact of Villa alone, and finally Manchester United's goal conceded originated from the right side of the defense zone.
United conceded two goals in five minutes, and there were obvious defensive errors in both goals conceded, allowing opponents to score without being defended. Villa made a season high with nine shots on target, and De Gea saved seven goals, but he couldn't do anything about the two goals he conceded.
It was a fantastic game, and the two sides ended up in a draw, which was a reasonable ending from the scene, but for Lonnick and Manchester United, it was obviously not an ideal result. As long as the attitude of the players of the whole team is improved, Manchester United still has room for improvement, but the team has too many hard injuries, I am afraid it is not a problem that can be solved in the short term.