Aheed Abrar
Erik ten Hag happy with Manchester United seeing out narrow Aston Villa victory
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is delighted with the Red Devils seeing out their narrow 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Unai Emery’s team visited Old Trafford on Sunday (30 April). Bruno Fernandes found the back of the net in the first half. Thankfully, in the end, the Manchester-based club were able to get the crucial three points.
Speaking to the media via the club’s official website, Ten Hag was delighted with the win. The gaffer had hoped for United to score more goals. However, he was impressed with the team’s will to hold onto the lead.
“We created some really good chances through Casemiro, [Marcus] Rashford, Fernandes and [Marcel] Sabitzer, and scored. And then, in the second half, you have to make it 2-0 and you don’t make it. And in the end it’s going to be tough but we saw again the determination of this team.”
Villa came into the match in fine form. Since the arrival of the former Arsenal manager in the Birmingham-based club’s dugout, they have been one of the best sides in the English top flight.
United started off on the front foot against the Villans. However, the Villa Park side also had a few chances to get on the scoresheet in the first half.
Last season, it was the Lions who got a 1-0 win over United at home. Fernandes had missed from the spot in stoppage time in that fixture. But the Portuguese made no mistake in the 39th minute to find the back of the net and break the deadlock.
The Red Devils continued to create opportunities in the second half. Villa were quiet for the most part. However, in the 80th minute, the Villans would have equalised were it not for Victor Lindelof’s goal-line clearance.
As things stand, the Old Trafford side are fourth in the league table. Liverpool are in fifth, nine points behind us, although we have a game in hand over the Merseyside outfit.
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With just a few more matches left in the season, it will be interesting to see what things will look like by the end. Hopefully, United will be able to finish strong and secure Champions League football for the upcoming campaign.
