Manchester United lead the race for Champions League qualification after beating Aston Villa 3-1 at Old Trafford to put a three-point buffer on their Midlands rivals.
When Michael Carrick took charge at Old Trafford in January, the gap to Villa was a whopping 11 points. Two months later the situation has changed dramatically in United’s favour, and they are now clear favorites to finish third.
Unai Emery’s side have picked up fewer points than bottom club Wolves since the start of the year, but United are flying as Carrick guided them to their fifth home win since taking charge and their seventh overall.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Casemiro gave Manchester United the lead in their Premier League match against Aston Villa.
Bruno Fernandes, often a creative genius, assisted Casemiro from a corner and Mateusz Cunha was once again successful with a beautifully weighted pass through the line. Ross Barkley equalized just before Cunha scored, but it was the only moment Villa looked flat. I feel completely spent.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Matheus Cunha put Manchester United ahead once again in their Premier League clash with Aston Villa.
As the match went on, the hosts did well to assert their dominance. Benjamin Cesco made an immediate impact from the bench, lunging for a loose ball in the box after Cunha’s cross was blocked. If three things were unclear before, they were now.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Benjamin Sesko came off the bench to score against Aston Villa and seal all three points.
Fernandes sent Cesco racing to further enhance another excellent performance and notch a hat-trick of assists. But the super sub inflated his shot. “It’s a very good thing to bring joy to others.” Fernandez later recalled: “I feel more proud and happy because I am serving my teammates.”
Regardless of other results on Sunday, United will remain six points adrift of the Premier League table, while Villa will be forced to look nervously over their shoulders.
Unai Emery’s side have won just three of their last 12 league games and appear to lack the spirit needed to maintain the pace in this fascinating European race.
Keane: United Certificate for CL Seat
Sky Sports’ Roy Keane:
“Yeah, I think I have a certificate.
“Stay out of the way and focus on the game. Recover. Villa looked a bit flat today (after Thursday’s Europa League game), but United were quite comfortable in the second half.”
“If you give a player like Bruno time and space, he will be punished. I think United have a clear place in the Champions League.”
Emery was ‘very motivated’ to stay in the top four
aston villa president Unai Emery:
“Earlier, what I expected was more or less on the field. We played well in the first half.
“We defended well in the first half, we were equal, we felt good, but we needed to get something more attacking. In the second half, we lost 10 or 15 minutes in the first half. In transition, they are a very good team and maybe even better than us.
“The idea was to stay calm, establish dominance, maintain tension but let the emotions give in. It was harder to react, so we tried. We had good momentum. Overall, I felt we did a good job, but it wasn’t good enough.
“In the last two months we are experiencing more difficulties. We are working on our structure. It was a bad result for us. We have to accept it and analyze the next task. We have to do more to show more capacity to compete. Balance is very important now. We have to be stronger.
“I am very motivated to achieve our goals.”
