The Aston Villa of Emiliano Dibu Martíneztired after the effort of the Champions League, could not get past the goalless draw against a Manchester United that seems to extend the credit of Erik Ten Hag to whom a defeat would have left him out of the team. The directors of the Red Devils, present at Villa Park with Jim Ratcliffe, Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth, will meet next week to determine the future of the Dutchman and the draw in Birmingham, along with the point saved in the last minute against Porto, they may have bought him time at Old Trafford.
And not because United had a great game at Villa Park. Unai Emery’s team was dense, emotionally and physically exhausted after beating Bayern Munich here on Tuesday and was irregular during the match, entering and leaving it and allowing the best chances to go to the visitors, who with a little more faith and aim could have gone away with the three points.
Emiliano Martínez, who was already a hero against Bayern, was once again the best for the ‘Villains’ and his interventions against Rashford were key. The Englishman, who is beginning to shine little by little as in the old days, came across two great saves from the Argentine, in separate shots from the edge of the area.
Villa’s response, which improved as the minutes went by, was Youri Tielemans, who was denied the goal by a great popcorn from André Onana.
Bruno Fernandes, whose red card was lifted last week, was able to take revenge for a week in which he was also sent off in the Europa League with a free kick that hit the crossbar. The rejection came in the crescent to Antony, whose shot without much reaction time and, despite there being no resistance, went outside.
In the last minutes, with both teams quite tired and almost asking for time, the match had to be stopped for several minutes due to a problem in the communication device between the VAR and the referee, which contributed to the heaviness and boredom of a I find that it could have been much better without so many minutes in the legs.
Not even Jhon Durán could unsettle him, to whom Emery gave him half an hour this time, but he could not increase his tally as the best scorer from the bench in Europe. The ‘Villains’ remain fifth, with fourteen points, while United is fourteenth, closer to relegation than to the Champions League.
