Man United ended up dropping 2 points in their 2-2 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Red Devils surrendered a two-goal lead in the last 15 minutes and came away with a disappointing result despite performing really well for around 75 minutes.
A lot of things happened in the action-packed game. Tribuna.com looks at a few under-radar episodes that might’ve been missed by some.
Bruno nutmegs Ings
Bruno Fernandes was in fine form against Villa, scoring a brilliant brace. But his contribution apart from the goals was impressive too. The Portuguese midfielder pulled off a cheeky bit of skills to ensue a fast-break early in the second half.
Fernandes embarrassed Danny Ings by taking the ball off him inside United’s area. He then pulled off a brilliant nutmeg before moving the ball forward, with fans loving seeing the ex-Liverpool striker humiliated.
Fans bring out new anti-Glazer banner
The United fans are not happy with the recent results and the traveling supporters brought out an interesting new banner at Villa Park.
It had the words: “Broken and rotten from top to bottom’ written which is a dig at how poorly things are run at United. Can’t say many Red Devils will be disagreeing with that one.
Greenwood comes inches away from scoring
Mason Greenwood was sharp and bright on the right wing against Villa, carrying the ball forward really well. In the 61st minute, the United forward received a nice pass from Fred that allowed him to sprint all the way into Villa’s box.
But with defenders catching up to him, Greenwood was forced to take a shot from a very tight angle.
He hit it quite well actually, but saw the ball go a few inches wide of the back of the net, denying him what would’ve been an excellent strike.
Douglas Luiz’s stamp on Bruno goes unchecked
The refereeing in the United-Villa game wasn’t the best at all, with referee David Coote often booking United players under fan pressure. Around the 64th minute, the referee completely missed what was a very bookable offense from Douglas Luiz.
The Villa midfielder managed to clatter Bruno in midfield in an effort to take the ball off him.
But in the aftermath, Luiz stamped his studs into Fernandes’ thigh area, causing him quite a bit of pain. VAR didn’t even check it, even though it was at least a yellow-card offence.
Elanga nearly scores from nothing
Anthony Elanga produced a really bright performance in his first prominent start under Ralf Rangnick, tormenting Villa’s defenders with his movement and being involved in some good moves.
He nearly created a great goal for himself in the 60th minute too. The Swedish forward pounced on a misplaced pass just outside Villa’s box.
He dribbled past a few bodies before taking a left-footed shot that whisked barely wide of the goal, denying Elanga what would’ve been a well-deserved strike.
Sancho loses possession in his first touch
Jadon Sancho was introduced into game just after Villa’s first goal in the 77th minute and brought on to add more energy in United’s attacks.
But he made a very poor first impression, botching his first touch of the ball. Greenwood played a nice long ball to the winger, who controlled it really well at first.
But Villa defender Matty Cash reacted quicker, stealing the ball off him and forcing Sancho to track back after wasting a potential counter-attack chance.
Bruno argues with fourth official after FT
Bruno was understandably disappointed to see United get a draw after he scored twice in the game. After the game, Fernandes was spotted arguing with the fourth official and looking quite displeased as well.
But after the game, the United midfielder explained that he was speaking to him about why Villa were allowed the 4th substitution late in the game.
