Football
Danny Lewis 4y

Man United's Rashford sloppy 5/10 in disappointing draw vs. Villa

A victory against Aston Villa would have taken Manchester United up to fifth in the Premier League, but they were frustrated by a side that were good value for their point at Old Trafford.

Villa opened the scoring when Jack Grealish curled a wonderful effort into the top corner after just 11 minutes but United equalised just before half time when Marcus Rashford's header went in via deflections off the post and visiting goalkeeperĀ Tom Heaton.

Victor Lindelof's 66th-minute header had Man United ahead before slack defending allowed Tyrone Mings to equalise just two minutes later leaving United down in ninth place, eight points outside the Champions League spots.

Positives

There were some really dangerous balls that were being played into the box, notably from Juan Mata and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. If the front three had been more alert they could have had some brilliant scoring opportunities but they were not up to the job.

Negatives

United's midfield was often overrun, with Villa's midfelders having far too much time on the ball to pick out their passes. Talking of passes, United were often so slow on the ball, making it easy for Villa to get into their shape and prevent them from creating opportunities.

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Manager rating out of 10

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 6 -- There were various points throughout the game where United could have done with some fresh new ideas from the bench, but Solskjaer was reluctant to make a change, holding off until the 74th minute.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK David De Gea, 6 -- There was very little the Spain international could do for either of Villa's goals, and there wasn't too much more that he had to do throughout the game. Some of his kicking was a little bit suspect.

DF Aaron Wan Bissaka, 6 -- Looked very shaky at the beginning of the game, but he grew into things, putting some good balls into the box.

DF Victor Lindelof, 7 -- He got away with one error of judgement when he allowed Grealish to float off his shoulder in the box during the second half, though he made up for it with a superb header to put United into the lead.

DF Harry Maguire, 6 -- Made things difficult for himself by picking up a yellow card after seven minutes, having been turned by Anwar El-Ghazi. Looked fairly dominant in his general play.

DF Brandon Williams, 6 -- Williams looked convincing in his overall play. He showed defensive solidity when he forced Trezeguet out wide to prevent a possible counterattack, though it was the teenager who played Mings onside for his goal.

MF Fred, 5 -- Picked up a yellow card in the 24th minute after fouling Grealish. He had a few moments of promise on the ball but was largely ineffective and really needs to work on his shooting if he is to have more of a presence going forward as his efforts often went well off target.

MF Andreas Pereira, 6 -- Worked hard to press Villa's midfielders, but was so sloppy with his tackling, fouling Grealish on numerous occasions. His one real moment of quality paid dividends, as his superb cross led to Heaton's own goal.

MF Juan Mata, 5 -- He often struggled to make his mark on the game, though part of that was arguably down to a lack of movement around him. There were a few moments that were pleasing on the eye, but the former Chelsea man showed very little cutting edge.

FW Daniel James, 5 -- He looked ineffective for large periods of the game against Sheffield United before sparking into life late on. His start wasn't much better this time around and while he picked up a bit in the last quarter of an hour, it wasn't enough to get the three points.

FW Anthony Martial, 5 -- Didn't manage to get into the game much during the first half, but looked far more dangerous during the second period when he started driving at the Villa defence. He had a great opportunity to secure the win but somehow scooped his effort over the bar.

FW Marcus Rashford, 5 -- There were so many times where Rashford was sloppy when opportunities arose. His afternoon was encapsulated by the goal that was later credited as an own goal; what should have been a certain strike for him ended up getting chalked under Tom Heaton after his effort was deflected.

Substitutes

Jesse Lingard, NR -- Replaced Juan Mata in the 74th minute and made some good runs behind the Villa defence.

Luke Shaw, NR -- Was left out for Brandon Williams and replaced the teenager in the 79th minute, before being booked for a foul on Grealish.

Mason Greenwood, NR -- Replaced Anthony Martial in the 82nd minute and was very quiet.

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