Aston Villa 1–2. Man Utd: “Momentum” as the Red Devils pursue their top-four opponents
The legendary former captain of Manchester United, Roy Keane, is increasingly confident that a top-four finish is within reach, as is manager Erik ten Hag.
After their victory at Aston Villa on Sunday, United may only be three points closer to the coveted top four than they were following their defeat at Nottingham Forest on December 30.
However, they have the better image.
Three straight Premier League wins—including late winners against Wolves and Villa Park following Scott McTominay’s decision to end a match that United could have easily lost. For the first time this season, four straight victories across all competitions, with wins against Fulham and Luton still to come.
With this most recent victory, they are now only six points behind fourth-place Spurs and one point behind fifth-place Aston Villa. This could even be enough to guarantee them a spot in the Champions League the following season, as the two most successful nations in Europe will receive an additional spot in the redesigned competition.
Keane is delighted to draw attention to the teams that United is attempting to overtake.
According to the Irishman, “They have the momentum,” Sky Sports reported. “The teams in front of them, particularly Tottenham and Aston Villa, will be concerned. They are pursuing them.”
According to Gary Neville, a former full-back for Manchester United, “Man Utd could have been out of it today but they now within touching distance.”
Ten Hag avoids using exaggeration. However, he employs direct analysis.
“We put ourselves in this situation and we have to catch up,” he stated. “At home or away, we can defeat any opponent, but sometimes we need to have more faith in our ability to win.
“We could have won in Arsenal, we deserved to win there, and we could have won in Liverpool, it is about belief and this team today believed we could win.”
Hojlund is ablaze
Prior to United’s Boxing Day encounter with Villa, Rasmus Hojlund had yet to net his first Premier League goal. More importantly, he didn’t appear to be in position to score one. It seemed that his confidence was wearing thin.
But after Bruno Fernandes’ corner hit John McGinn, United stormed back to win 3-2, thrilling from a two-goal deficit. The 21-year-old sealed the victory by slamming home the loose ball.
One could say that Hojlund’s season has been made by the goal.
When Harry Maguire headed the ball back from Fernandes’ corner on Sunday, the Dane remained in the center of the Villa six-yard area. Hojlund was played onside by Ollie Watkins, and the striker swept home.
Now, he has five goals in his last five Premier League games and six in his last seven games overall. Nicolas Anelka, who won both the FA Cup and the Premier League with Arsenal in 1997–98, was the only player to accomplish the latter feat at a younger age.
“Every time Hojlund walks on to the pitch now he looks like he will believe he can score goals,” Keane stated.
He is not the same player as he was in the past. He exudes confidence and demonstrates genuine desire. The fact that he has to play every week has really been very beneficial to him.”
Even though Ten Hag may have preferred Harry Kane at the beginning of the summer, he has consistently supported United’s choice to invest £72 million in Hojlund, a young player from Serie A team Atalanta, rather than going for experience.
And as doubts about the decision’s wisdom begin to fade, so too will the controversy surrounding goalie Andre Onana.
Some were perplexed when United fought to hold onto Onana for as long as possible before he eventually reported for duty in Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations. Given how inconsistent Onana’s play had been, many questioned Ten Hag’s reluctance to let Turkey international Altay Bayindir fill in for him on a long-term basis.
Onana made her appearance at Villa Park.
Unai Emery, the manager of Villa, praised their keeper as “fantastic.”
To say that he frustrated the hosts with a series of outstanding saves would be an understatement.
Considering how often he has had to stand up for the two, Ten Hag probably felt that their combined effort was sufficient.
The Dutchman stated, “The prize is awarded at the end of the season.” “We have a lot of games to play in February, but we’re coming back. Although we still need to work on our game, we are happy with our recent success.”
