Going into the ninth game Manchester United faced in the last 28 days, I must confess that I would have settled for the one point at Villa Park. With ten minutes remaining I was praying for it before Federico Macheda and Nemanja Vidic finally got it. Unlike so many matches in which points were frittered away this season, this was an occasion in which United were forced to provide one of the typical comebacks that they have become renowned for to snatch a 2-2 draw. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson was philosophical about the result saying that “I think we’ve seen a great game today. Great credit to Aston Villa, they got stuck in, tackled, fought and the crowd kept them going”
Ferguson admitted to Sky Sports after the game that “We could have lost six goals in the second half. They hit the woodwork three times and Albrighton missed two great chances. We were all over the place. We had two great chances in the first half which we should have done better with and it is a concern we’ve had to wait 80 minutes before forcing Friedel into a save. To be 2-0 down with 10 minutes to go you have to be pleased with that. With another five minutes we would have won the match, there was no doubt about that, but we waited too long to get there.”
Aston Villa 2 v Manchester United 2
The Independent – Manchester United launched a stunning comeback to rescue a point through goals by Federico Macheda and Nemanja Vidic after Aston Villa looked set for their first home win over the Red Devils in 15 years. Villa, lacking nine players through injury or illness, stunned United as Ashley Young and Marc Albrighton put them in command with only 15 minutes remaining.
But United rallied through Macheda and skipper Vidic to maintain their unbeaten record this season. Nevertheless, they are still three points behind leaders Chelsea who have a game in hand against Sunderland tomorrow. Full Report
Manchester Evening News – Manchester United came from two goals down with nine minutes left to earn a point against Aston Villa and maintain their unbeaten run.
After a lacklustre first period, Villa upped the pace in the second half and forced a penalty when Wes Brown fouled Ashley Young. The Villa winger picked himself up to score past Edwin van der Sar.
The Reds went further behind when Marc Albrighton finished a classic counter attack, but with the clock ticking down United hit back when Macheda slammed a shot high into the net. And Sir Alex Ferguson’s men were level four minutes later when Nemanja Vidic headed home after fine work from Nani on the left. The result means United have now drawn six of their seven away games this season. Full Report
Aston Villa Official Website – Villa were so close to ending 15 years of hurt on home soil against Manchester United – but the Red Devils came roaring back with two late goals. It was in August 1995, after Villa’s previous home top-flight victory over United, when Alan Hansen famously said: “You’ll never win anything with kids.” The rest, as they say, was history. Sir Alex Ferguson’s golden generation emerged and proceeded to deliver a string of honours.
Hansen’s comments almost went full circle here – but it was the turn of an exciting batch of young Villa stars to come under the spotlight. One of them – 20-year-old Marc Albrighton scored to give the hosts a two-goal advantage, adding to Ashley Young’s 71st minute penalty. Full Report
Aston Villa – Friedel, Young, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Albrighton (Lichaj 88), Bannan, Hogg (Herd 90), Downing, Young, Agbonlahor (Delfouneso 78) GOALS – Young (71m), Albrighton (76m)
Manchester United – van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Park (Smalling 86), Fletcher, Carrick, Nani, Hernandez (Obertan 73), Berbatov (Macheda 73) GOALS – Macheda (80m), Vidic (85m)
Do you consider a draw at Villa satisfactory under the circumstances?
