Aheed Abrar
Erik ten Hag hails “brilliant” Victor Lindelof after Manchester United win vs Aston Villa
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has hailed the performance of Victor Lindelof as “brilliant” after the win over Aston Villa in the Premier League.
The Red Devils took on the Lions at home on Sunday (30 April). Bruno Fernandes scored the only goal of the game as the Old Trafford side saw off their narrow victory with an overall decent display.
Speaking to BBC (h/t Metro), Ten Hag was pleased with the way the Sweden international played. The Dutch manager liked how the 28-year-old kept Ollie Watkins quiet for the majority of the fixture.
“[Victor Lindelof] played brilliant. He was totally in control in the area around [Ollie] Watkins.”
Lindelof started the match and played the full 90 minutes. The former SL Benfica star was partnered with Luke Shaw in the central defensive positions.
Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane picked up injuries in the Europa League first leg against Sevilla. Harry Maguire was unavailable in our last match. Our skipper was on the bench and came on as a substitute late versus Unai Emery’s team.
As a result, the Swedish national has been a pivotal player for United in the previous few games. The centre-back has not disappointed, holding his own against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup semi-finals. Unfortunately, Tottenham Hotspur made a comeback against us after going two goals down.
United had a number of opportunities in the opening minutes of the fixture. However, Villa had opportunities to get on the scoreboard as well.
Thankfully, just before the end of the first half, Fernandes broke the deadlock. Emiliano Martinez’s initial save off Marcus Rashford’s effort found the Portugal international, who found the back of the net.
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Emery’s team hardly had a sniff at goal in the second half. However, in the 80th minute, Lindelof cleared off the line to prevent an equaliser from the Villans. The Swedish national has proven once again why he is a good option to have on the bench for the Manchester-based club.
