‘Lacked with his end product’, ‘had his blushes spared’ – Aston Villa player ratings vs Man Utd

Aston Villa extended their unbeaten streak to eight games with a drab 0-0 draw with Manchester United at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon.

Unai Emery’s men clinched another point to bolster their top four hopes but the feeling around Villa Park was flat throughout. There was a significant dip in enthusiasm from the mighty 1-0 win over Bayern Munich midweek, with ultimately very little to separate the two teams.

The first half made for uncomfortable viewing for both sets of supporters as the contest was cagey and restless. Neither side managed to develop any real rhythm as possession was relentlessly broken up by a mix of consistent fouling and indecisive build-up play. To make matters worse, Ezri Konsa was forced off with a muscular issue for the hosts and Harry Maguire limped down the tunnel after an awkward landing.

There was the odd half chance, including one for Marcus Rashford early doors as the United attacker forced a decent diving save from Emiliano Martinez after Matty Cash gave up possession cheaply. For Villa, Morgan Rogers went close to finding the bottom corner after a clever shimmy on the edge of the area, while Jaden Philogene saw a speculative 30-yard effort fizz wide. Just like the encounter, the atmosphere was also surprisingly flat around Villa Park.

All that changed after the break, however, as the game opened up and the chances began to flow. Rashford clipped the top of the crossbar with a thunderous dipping effort from range before Youri Tielemans saw a powerful first-time strike saved by Andre Onana following a short corner. Ollie Watkins then went close as he fired toward goal from a tight angle, but the striker’s hit was always rising.

Bruno Fernandes was the next to be denied a screamer as the United captain’s 25-yard free-kick rattled back off the crossbar. The strike curled and dipped wickedly but Martinez still arguably had it covered. The next chance didn’t come until stoppage time but it was a huge one as a low Ian Maatsen corss made it all the way across the area to Philogene, who was waiting at the far post. The Villa number 19 couldn’t have done much better as he struck on target first time, but a terrific last-ditch block from Diogo Dalot kept the game scoreless.

Aston Villa player ratings vs Man Utd
Emiliano Martinez – 7

Preserved another clean sheet, inspired by excellent stops to deny Rashford and Garnacho in the first half. Timed his dive well to catch an Antony curler in the second.

Matty Cash – 7

Fortunate and had his blushes spared following a poor giveaway in the first half, as Rashford saw the resultant shot saved. Otherwise defended well and made an absolutely vital intervention to stop a Garnacho counter-attack at the end.

Ezri Konsa – N/A (off 11’)
Didn’t have long enough on the field to be judged as he was substituted with a muscular issue.

Pau Torres – 7

Another solid display at the heart of defence as he helped restrict United’s output.

Lucas Digne – 6 (off 85’)

Kept Garnacho and Rashford at bay for the most part but wasn’t consistent enough with his final delivery, something Villa were relying heavily upon.

Ross Barkley – 6
Got Villa out of trouble on several occasions as he played clever passes away from the United press. Not quite clinical enough with his final ball, mind.

Youri Tielemans – 7

Executed the odd excellent pass forward or wide and saw a powerful strike tipped over by Onana early in the second half.

Jaden Philogene – 7

Worked so hard defensively, just as he did against Bayern Munich. Sparked the odd attack with a quick change of pace.

Leon Bailey – 6 (off 62’)
Struggled to get involved in the first half but looked a threat early in the second as he won a couple of fouls in advanced areas.

Morgan Rogers – 5

Caused lots of problems with his direct dribbling once again but was really lacking with his end product as he took too long to release the ball. Scuffed two decent chances over the bar in the second half.

Ollie Watkins – 6

Not able to make the desired impact as he was contained well by a combination of Evans, Maguire and De Ligt.

Diego Carlos – 7 (on 11’)
Timed a couple of important challenges perfectly, one on Hojlund and the other on Rashford. Pinged one lovely long ball over to Digne.

Jhon Duran – 6 (on 62’)

Tried his best to influence the latter stages with hold-up play but was doubled-up on by United’s defenders.