In the latest match of the third round of the FA Cup, Manchester United hosted Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Both teams are under certain pressure, because while Man United just lost to Wolves at home, Villa lost 2 consecutive matches before.
Therefore, coach Ralf Rangnick has made changes in both personnel and tactics. Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire are not in the starting lineup, the 4-2-2-2 tactic was changed to 4-2-3-1, with Edinson Cavani playing the highest and being supported by Bruno Fernandez from the back. Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard deployed the best possible lineup and chose an attacking style of play despite having to play at Old Trafford.
Thanks to home advantage, Man United took more initiative in the first half of the match, so that in the 8th minute, they scored. Scott McTominay received a cross from Fred and headed the ball into the visitors' net. It seemed that the goal would create momentum for Rangnick's students to continue attacking, but in reality, the opposite was true.
Because they conceded an early goal, Villa knew they had plenty of time to attack. With the improvement in playing style under Gerrard, it can be seen that Villa is the team with more lines in their coordination. Along with a few situations where Man United's defense lacked concentration, David de Gea's goal was threatened.
Within a few minutes, the Spanish goalkeeper had to fly to save the Red Devils once and ask his companion, the crossbar, to save the Red Devils. In the remaining half of the first half and the second half of the match, Man United only had 2 more chances that were considered dangerous. That was Luke Shaw's long-range shot that forced Emiliano Martinez to save and Mason Greenwood's comeback and attack, which was also blocked by the Argentine goalkeeper.
It is worth mentioning that the time between those two phases was very long - the 38th and 74th minutes. During that time, especially early in the second half, Villa played as if they were playing at home. They fiercely competed, not giving the opponent time to handle the ball. They coordinated a very quick one-touch, creating huge pressure on the Man United defense.
With that pressure, 3 Red Devils players received yellow cards during this time and Villa twice put the ball into De Gea's net, but both were recognized. Notably, in the 50th minute situation, Danny Ings cushioned the ball close to the goal after his teammate's header, but the referee had to ask VAR to intervene. First was the "fromage" of whether Ings' teammates touched his feet when he missed a shot or not, then the English striker's mistake of whether he let the ball touch his hand or not.
Both situations were not his fault, but in the end, the fault appeared from the position of a player blocking Cavani's way when he ran towards Tyron Mings - the player who received the ball and headed in.
Despite not being recognized for 2 goals, Villa still played very well, forcing Man United and De Gea's defense to operate at full capacity before conceding a goal. Rangnick's Man United kept the score at 1-0 until the end of the match and advanced to round 4, against Middlesbrough.
The fourth round of the FA Cup takes place from February 4 to 7.
