SM
Man City vs. Chelsea: 11 hrs 44 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
AV
Premier League | Gameweek 34
Jul 9, 2020 at 8.15pm UK
Villa Park
MU

Aston Villa
0 - 3
Man Utd


Konsa (52'), Nakamba (81')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Fernandes (27' pen.), Greenwood (45+5'), Pogba (58')
Wan-Bissaka (40'), Matic (45+3'), Fred (87')

Record-breaking Manchester United march on with comfortable Aston Villa win

:Headline: Result: Record-breaking Manchester United march on with comfortable Aston Villa win: ID:405854: from db_amp
United are a point adrift of the top four after victory at Villa Park.

Manchester United maintained their Champions League charge after a VAR blunder sparked a 3-0 win at Aston Villa.

Bruno Fernandes' contentious penalty – after he appeared to tread on Ezri Konsa – gave the visitors the platform for victory at Villa Park.

Referee Jon Moss gave the spot-kick and his decision was backed up by VAR official Graham Scott, much to Villa's disbelief and fury.

Mason Greenwood's missile and Paul Pogba's first goal for 453 days then saw United extend their unbeaten run to 17 games in all competitions in another statement of intent.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men closed the gap on fourth-placed Leicester to a point. Fifth-placed United go to the King Power Stadium on the final day of the season.

Villa raged about the penalty but defeat was another hammer blow to their dwindling hopes of avoiding the drop.

Trezeguet hit the post just before Fernandes' opener, but Dean Smith's side remain four points from safety with just four games left – starting at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

United marched on to keep the pressure on the top four in what looks set to be an increasingly frantic race for Europe.

Yet the visitors – unchanged for a fourth straight Premier League game for the first time since 2006 – were initially disjointed.

Villa pressed and contained United, creating the best chance of a bright opening 20 minutes.

The hosts had joy out wide and Konsa's cross evaded the United backline to reach Jack Grealish, only for the Old Trafford target to fire wide at the far post.

With time running out to save themselves Villa needed something special and they almost caught United cold after 25 minutes.

Trezeguet strode forward unchallenged after Pepe Reina's clearance, but his low strike hit the outside of the post, a miss which would prove costly two minutes later.

United had been leggy but took their golden chance to open the scoring when Fernandes went down under Konsa's challenge.

Villa were furious, with the midfielder appearing to tread on Konsa – indeed it was more of a foul on the Villa man. But the decision stood after a VAR review.

It allowed Fernandes to roll in his seventh goal in just 10 Premier League appearances.

It was the turning point and Fernandes should have bagged a second just before the break but could only head Luke Shaw's cross over from six yards.

Villa would have felt hard done by going into half-time a goal behind, yet Greenwood delivered a killer blow in stoppage time.

Anthony Martial pressured Tyrone Mings into conceding possession midway in United's half for Fernandes and Greenwood to break.

Martial eventually returned the ball to Greenwood and, with Douglas Luiz standing off, the teenager's rocket flew into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Villa's belief ebbed away and Aaron Wan-Bissaka missed a fine chance to make it 3-0 three minutes after the break, heading Marcus Rashford's centre wide.

Rashford had a goal ruled out with Pogba offside, but United did not have to wait long for their third which arrived after 58 minutes.

With Villa's confidence shot, they left Pogba free 18 yards out and he had time to sweep a fine finish low past Reina – his first United goal since April 2019.

Martial smacked the bar as United threatened to run riot, but they were forced to settle for what they had after Rashford was denied by Reina late on.

amp_article__405854 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-07-09 21:36:26:
html db last update - 2021-03-09 01:32:04 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
2Arsenal32225575264971
3Liverpool32218372314171
4Aston Villa33196868491963
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham33139115258-648
9Chelsea31138106152947
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves32127134651-543
12Fulham33126154951-242
13Bournemouth32119124757-1042
14Crystal Palace3289153754-1733
15Brentford3388174758-1132
16Everton3298153248-1627
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3379174258-1626
18Luton TownLuton3367204670-2425
19Burnley3348213368-3520
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3237223084-5416
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .