Manchester United has been under a lot of pressure after a series of 4 matches without knowing the taste of victory. Facing Aston Villa in high form, Erik ten Hag and his students tried very hard to keep 1 point to bring home. Ten Hag can now rest assured because if he loses 1 of the last 2 matches, the possibility of being fired is very high.
Before Aston Villa just defeated Bayern Munich at Villa Park, Man United did it with determination and organization, showing that the players still have faith in Ten Hag. There were strange choices in the starting lineup such as letting Jonny Evans start instead of De Ligt, Martinez or Lindelof. However, it was the Irishman who was the best player.
Compared to the usual chaos, this looked like a more planned performance from Ten Hag and his students. Man United defended with a traditional 4-4-2 formation. They showed practicality and patience when the defense was barely pushed up and only waited for counter-attacking situations.
"We have a very good organization and team spirit. The players played with the correct strategy and showed determination and perseverance. In particular, the defense played focused, almost giving the opponent no chance" - Erik ten Hag shared.
Man United's starting lineup has left many doubts after recent famous transfer seasons. The bench players are worth up to nearly 350 million pounds; of which 7 players are Ten Hag's contracts. This list includes both Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt. Both were left out when the 54-year-old decided to use the centre-back duo Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans.
After conceding 3 goals per match against Tottenham and Porto, Man United successfully blocked Aston Villa's attack with only 1 shot on target. Shooters like Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran were helpless in getting the ball into Andre Onana's net.
Aston Villa's ineffectiveness was greatly affected after they spent a lot of energy in the match against Bayern Munich. Unai Emery's team lacked sharpness and could not maintain the intensity as usual. In addition, Villa also lost Amadou Onana in midweek and Ezri Konsa in the first minutes due to injury.
Meanwhile, Man United had to "scare" Marcus Rashford in the middle of the match. The English star received a yellow card and made a dangerous foul on Leon Bailey. To avoid playing with one less player for the third time in a row, Ten Hag took no more risks.
The draw against Aston Villa is an acceptable achievement for Man United when they are going through the most difficult period under Erik ten Hag. In the current situation, the "Red Devils" first goal is to avoid embarrassing defeats such as the 0-3 loss to Tottenham at Old Trafford. They have 2 weeks to stabilize the team. This is also an opportunity for Ten Hag himself to improve his playing style when the black ball is still available.
