At half-time, home fans were furious after Garnacho’s goal was disallowed after getting the better of Konsa but shooting straight at Martinez. They vocalised their displeasure with Garnacho for having missed an open goal with his shot that went just wide of his goalkeeper’s goalposts.
United have now gone 400 minutes since scoring at home and need to break their goal-scoring drought soon. In the early stages, United were assisted by some poor defending at a free kick taken by John McGinn.
Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw has much to prove at Manchester United. After emerging through Southampton’s youth system and joining Old Trafford in 2014, the 22-year-old left back has won two trophies but also experienced some injuries and been called out by Jose Mourinho on numerous occasions during last season.
He has found his form again and should become an important member of the Red Devils despite an injury issue. He boasts an excellent link-up play volume score and can quickly read games to intercept passes from opposing players.
However, his carrying/dribbling/ball progression scores fall below expectations; therefore he needs to improve in these areas while remaining one of the premier left-backs in the league.
Leander Dendoncker
Leander Dendoncker has made the most of his Aston Villa appearances this season as a defensive midfielder, opening his account for 2023/2024 by scoring against Manchester United on December 26.
John McGinn and Dendoncker both capitalized on a poor defensive display at Old Trafford, scoring either side of half time – with McGinn scoring from an accurate free kick that went directly through everyone in the box, while Dendoncker took advantage of subpar defending to score twice himself.
Belgian international, he made his professional debut for Anderlecht in July 2009 before moving on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers until permanent transfer for approximately EUR15 million was complete. Currently a regular member of Belgium national team squad.
Clement Lenglet
Lenglet provided United with a solid base to build upon, winning four aerial duels and making three tackles before halftime that helped keep United in check.
At half-time, McGinn made an error that allowed Bruno Fernandes to set in a corner kick that hit McGinn on the top of his knee and bounced up for Garnacho to score his first Premier League goal after 15 appearances – providing much-needed relief to Erik ten Hag’s team, which had been subjected to loud booing at half-time.
Hojlund’s goal was a testimony to this idea as it marked his first league goal since 1,026 minutes had gone by without him scoring for Red Devils.
Lucas Digne
Lucas Digne has clearly suffered an injury. Members of his team’s medical staff have provided assistance off the field.
Garnacho thought he’d opened their account early in the second half, only for his effort to be flagged offside by the linesman. With another chance presented to him – dodging past Ezri Konsa on his left before crossing for Marcus Rashford to score from close range – Garnacho took advantage of it by creating another chance – this time by beating off Ezri Konsa and crossing for him Marcus Rashford to finish.
Leander Dendoncker doubles Villa’s lead after his free-kick slips through everyone and finds its target. Boos echoed around Old Trafford as United played well but their defensive errors cost them goals; there are four minutes added on.
John McGinn
John McGinn can often be seen lurking around congested areas, pushing Lucas Digne and other players like him to maintain overlapped passes, and making sure passes go through smoothly. His presence keeps everything running smoothly.
McGinn of Aston Villa celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford. For his efforts, midfielder McGinn was rewarded with a new contract extension until 2027 – keeping him at Villa until then!
United must find a way to break their goal drought and end an eight-game winless run, and Garnacho nearly did just that in the 59th minute, only for VAR to rule him offside. A moment later however, Rasmus Hojlund scored his maiden Premier League goal to bring one goal back for their opponents at Old Trafford – it will go down in history forever!
