Solskjær speaks!
Dean Smith speaks ...
“First half we were miles off it,” he tells Sky Sports. “First 15 minutes felt like a testimonial. Then they injected some pace into it and deservedly went ahead.
“I asked for more at half-time and we deserved to get back in the game. Our goalkeeper has had to make some good saves but they were all from outside the box.
On Manchester United’s penalty: “I thought it was a penalty at the time, but I looked at it after the game and saw he tripped himself. I don’t see why Michael Oliver couldn’t have looked at it. That’s what VAR is for isn’t it? He’s tripped himself up. There’s margins in football. I’ve seen it again, and I don’t think it’s a penalty.
“We know we’re on a good journey at the moment. We believe we’ve got five key arrivals to go with the players who are Premier League ready now.
“This is only our second season in the division, but competing here and against Liverpool and Arsenal shows our journey is going well so far.”
Match report: Manchester United 2-1 Aston Villa
Premier League: Jamie Jackson was at Old Trafford to see Manchester United win an exciting game by the odd goal of three and go level on points with league leaders Liverpool.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka speaks: “That win shows how much work we’re putting in, how much of a performance that was,” he tells Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves.
On his cross for Anthony Martial’s opener: “I could just hear voices - back post, front post,” he said. “I just went with the front post and put it there.”
On his culpability for Aston Villa’s equaliser: “They played a quick free-kick,” he says. “It’s unfortunate, but as you can see, we hit back. The win means a lot, it shows where we’ve come from, from the start of the season. We’re just taking it game by game. It was a late start for us, we were in catch-up mode, but we’re here now. No excuses.”
Manchester United 2-1 Aston Villa - a recap
Manchester United, who travel to Liverpool on 17 January, began the game well, before Villa wrestled control from them after about 20 minutes. A very entertaining game see-sawed, with Anthony Martial giving United the lead by catching three Villa defenders napping as he converted an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross.
Bertrand Traore restored parirty in a helter-skelter second half, as Villa capitalised on some Aaron Wan-Bissaka naivety at a free-kick, before United restored their lead soon after. Bruno Fernandes slotted home from the spot after Douglas Luiz tripped Paul Pogba in the penalty area.
Full time: Manchester United 2-1 Aston Villa
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeep! It’s all over at Old Trafford, where Manchester United have beaten Aston Villa by the odd goal of three to go level on points with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
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90+5 min: Rashford embarks on a counter-attack but runs for the corner. He plays the ball inside to Pogba, who is more reluctant to run the clock down. He gives the ball back to Villa who get forward one last time, but to no avail.
90+4 min: United finally get to clear their lines, when Watkins is unable to reach a cross. United substitution: Axel Tuanzebe on for Fred.
90+3 min: From that set piece, Cash is teed up for a rising shot from distance, which De Gea puts out for a third corner in quick succession.
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90+2 min: Villa win a corner after good work down the right from McGinn and Cash. Grealish’s delivery is put behind for another corner by Dan James.
90 min: Matic gets booked for a foul on Grealish. We’ll have five minutes of added time.
89 min: Rashford rampages forward with Villa’s defence backing off. He plays the ball wide – ac little too wide – to Dan James and the substitute’s cross come shot fails to trouble Martinez.
89 min: Luke Shaw is booked for a foul on Douglas Luiz.
88 min: James is straight into action, his low shot hitting traffic on its way through to the warm embrace of Emiliano Martinez.
86 min: Man Utd substitution: Dan James on for Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese midfielder, who has been outstanding, looks very displeased by his withdrawal from the action.
86 min: Matic fouls Cash just down by the technical areas and is perhaps lucky to escape a caution.
84 min: Villa substitution: Keinan Davis on for Anwar El-Ghazi.
82 min: Villa win a free-kick in a wide area after El Ghazi is blocked illegally by Shaw. Matty Cash curls a cross to the far post, where Mings heads narrowly wide. It was a fantastic cross and a brilliant scoring opportunity, but the defender headed wide with plenty of goal to aim at.
81 min: Man Utd substitution I missed earlier while in a Chris Kamara-esque reverie: Nemanja Matic on for Scott McTominay.
79 min: El Ghazi switches wings, presumably to give Matty Cash a dig-out, as he’s being given the run-around by Luke Shaw.
79 min: Villa substitution: Jacob Ramsey on for Bertrand Traore.
78 min: From this corner, the ball is cleared to Rashford. He sends an good effort fizzing just over the angle of post and crossbar.
77 min: The corner is cleared but only as far as Fernandes outside the area. He advances before sending a dipping shot goalwards. Martinez paws it over for a corner.
76 min: Luke Shaw drills another cross from the left towards the near post. Ezra Konsa intercepts to put it out for a corner.
75 min: Another curled Grealish cross for Watkins, who outjumps Bailly but skims his header wide of the upright from five yards out.
73 min: A loose pass from Cash is pounced on by Shaw, who gallops down the left unopposed. He combines with Martial before crossing for Pogba, who shoots low, hard and wide of the upright when scoring looked easier.
72 min: After good foraging work for Traore, El Ghazi shoots low and hard from distance, forcing David De Gea to dive low to his right and save. This is very entertaining stuff.
69 min: Matty Cash comes perilously close to giving away a penalty, getting in a tangle with Luke Shaw on the edge of his own area as the Manchester United full-back beat him for pace down his inside. Referee Michael Oliver sees no foul and neither, apparently, does his VAR Paul Tierney.
67 min: Bissaka goes some towards redeeming himself, taking an inch-perfect cross from the outstanding Grealish off El-Ghazi’s head when the Villa man looked certain to score at the far post.
64 min: Going back to the Villa equaliser, it was Aaron Wan-Bissaka who was guilty of tomfoolery, electing to try – and fail – to stop John McGinn taking a quick free-kick towards Jack Grealish, rather than getting back into position to help his team defend the dead ball. There was a giant hole for Grealish to run into, exactly where Bissaka should have been.
63 min: There was a pause for a VAR check before that penalty was taken but it was never going to be overturned.
GOAL! Manchester United 2-1 Aston Villa (Fernandes 61pen)
United retake the lead! Fernandes arrows the ball into the bottom left-hand corner. Martinez guessed the right way, but didn’t get a finger to the ball.
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PENALTY FOR MANCHESTER UNITED!
Douglas Luiz is penalised after a tangle of legs with Paul Pogba when the Manchester United midfielder had got wrong side of him on the edge of the Villa penalty area.
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GOAL! Manchester United 1-1 Aston Villa (Traore 58)
Villa equalise. Bertrand Traore fires home low and hard from about six yards, contrrolling and then converting a Jack Grealish cross from the left as Manchester United’s defence fell asleep at a free kick.
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55 min: Eric Bailly gets booked for a late challenge on somebody or other.
54 min: Anwar El-Ghazi fires narrowly wide from distance after being picked out by Jack Grealish with a ball played from right to left.
53 min: Tyrone Mings is forced to head away from his own goal after twisting in mid-air to connect with a Luke Shaw cross.
52 min: Ollie Watkins brings a good save out of De Gea, stretching every sinew to steer a Grealish cross goalwards with his forehead, forcing the Manchester United goalkeeper to tip the ball over the bar. Nothing comes from the corner.
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50 min: Lovely play from Bernard Traore after picking up a wonderful crossfield ball from McGinn. He picks out Grealish on the overlap with a backheel but his cross is too high.
50 min: Marcus Rashford does Matty Cash for speed down the left and drills the ball towards the near post. Emiliano Martinez is on hand to block.
48 min: Michael Oliver shows his first yellow card of the game and Harry Maguire is the recipient. He can’t complain, having shoved Grealish off the ball in instalments.
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47 min: Good tracking back by Martial, who puts a stop to a Matty Cash gallop down the left, forcing the Villa full-back to play the ball backwards.
46 min: Harry Maguire clips a free-kick from just inside his own half wide in the direction of Fernandes. He proceeds to lose possession.
Second half: Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa
46 min: Play resumes at Old Trafford, with no changes in personnel on either side. If United can hang on for the win, they’ll go level on points with League leaders Liverpool.
A word on Ross Barkley: The midfielder was expected to feature for Villa tonight but it seems he hasn’t fully recovered from his injury. Apologies for the slightly confusing photo I posted earlier, which shows him training before a previous game.
The Big Interview: Jordan Henderson
Liverpool’s highly decorated captain gets a grilling from Donald McRae, one of the best interviewers in the business. Read on ...
Match report: Everton 0-1 West Ham
Premier League: Spare a thought for Andy Hunter, who had to chisel out 1,000 or so words on one of the most dreary Premier League games ever played earlyier this evening. Here’s how he got on ...
Half-time: Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa
Peep! Man United win a corner but there’s no time to take it. Michael Oliver blows his whistle to bring an entertaining first half to a close. Anthony Martial’s header separates the sides.
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45 min: Fred plays the ball wide to Shaw, who tries to pick out Martial. Matty Cash clears.
43 min: Villa corner. Bernard Traore swings the ball outwards but it’s headed clear by Pogba, who is having one of his better games in a United shirt.
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GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa (Martial 41 min)
Anthony Martial stoops to conquer between three Villa defenders, powering home a header from the edge of the six yard box after getting on the end of an Aaron Wan-Bissake cross from the right. He had no business scoring there, with three defenders between him and the goal as the ball came in.
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38 min: Bruno Fernandes tries his luck from distance, sending the ball flashing wide of the Villa goal. Good effort.
36 min: Eric Bailly swings a petulant hand in the direction of John McGinn’s face as he attempts to grab the ball to take a free-kick. He doesn’t connect and is very lucky - I suspect he’d have been in line for a red card if he’d made contact.
35 min: A Grealish through ball to the edge of the United penalty area is met by Cash, who has to stretch to get a toe on it. United clear.
34 min: Grealish sends the corner kick deep, where it’s met by Ezri Konsa, who sends a looping header towards the edge of the six-yard box. United clear.
33 min: Luke Shaw puts a Matt Targett cross from the left out for a Villa corner.
31 min: Nursing a cut lip, Pogba leaves the field of play after receiving medical attention, before returning immediately.
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30 min: Matt Targett heads clear at the near post, contesting the corner kick with Pogba behind him. The Frenchman goes down injured, holding his face - Mings, it was, who caught him with an arm to the the head.
28 min: Tyrone Mings boots a Fernandes cross clear as Manchester United start to reassert their authority. Paul Pogba fails to pick out Martial with a cross but does win his side a corner.
25 min: Nothing comes from the corner but Villa are getting more and more confident. Paul Pogba reminds them they’re in a game on somebody else’s turf, shooting over from the edge of the box after receiving a pass from Rashford.
23 min: More good play from Villa who are visibly growing into the game. McGinn, Grealish, Cash and McGinn combine beautifully with some crisp, neat passing before Eric Bailly is forced to dive in at the near post to prevent Ollie Watkins connecting with a cross from deep. Corner for Villa.
22 min: El Ghazi runs on to a Grealish pass down the left and squares the ball. It’s blocked and cleared.
21 min: A little period of sustained possession for Villa, which abruptly ends by the time I type that comma. They’ve definitely got more of a foothold in this game after a slightly sheepish start.
17 min: Paul Pogba dummies on the edge of the area, allowing Fred to shoot over from further out after connecting with an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross. The Man United full-back had combined to good effect with Marcus Rashford down the right flank, but Pogba probably should have taken the shot.
15 min: United deal with two Villa corners in quick succession in the wake of that McGinn shot. David De Gea appears to be unhappy with some roughhouse treatment he was getting as the players waited for Jack Grealish to deliver the ball into the penalty area. He complains at length to referee Michael Oliver.
14 min: John McGinn brings an excellent save out of De Gea with an excellent controlled volley towards the bottom left-hand corner. He connected with a cross from Cash, who had given Paul Pogba the slip down the right flank.
14 min: A tip of the hat to the excellent Fernandes, who is already the standpout player in this game. It was he who picked out Martial for that shot on goal, with an excellent pass tyhreaded between defenders.
12 min: Maguire gets his head to that Luke Shaw outswinger, but there isn’t enough pace on the ball for his effort to trouble Martinez.
11 min: Martial spanks the ball goalwards from the edge of the Villa penalty area, but Martinez is equal to his goalbound shot. He getsa a strong hand to the ball, putting it out for a corner. From that, United win another.
10 min: A curled Fernandes cross from the right is headed clear by Cash. United continue to pressurise their visitors.
9 min: It’s pretty even in these opening minutes, although Manchester Un ited are probably having the better of things and looking a little more assured.
7 min: A low, hard Scott McTominey pass towards the Villa penalty area is miscontrolled by Ezri Konsa. Martial can’t quite capitalise and the Villa defender recovers.
7 min: A Bruno Fernandes cross from the right is deflected towards Martinez off Tyrone Mings.
6 min: Villa play it out from the back, under pressure from United. Moments later, the ball is hoofed long and ends up back with David De Gea at the other end of the pitch.
4 min: A foul by Fred on Jack Grealish earns Villa a free-kick just inside the United half. Moments later, Targett’s cross from the left is cleared by Maguire.
2 min: Fred plays the ball down the inside left for Briuno Fernandes to chase. He rifles a cross into the chest of Emiliano Martinez at the near post and the ball breaks for Pogba, who eschews a shooting opportunity. Early panic stations for Villa following a great pass from Fred.
1 min: Another throw-in, this time for United. Luke Shaw takes this one.
Manchester United v Aston Villa is go ...
1 min: Manchester United get the ball rolling, with Bruno Fernandes doing the honours. It’s immediately lumped out for a Villa throw-in on the left flank, which Matty Cash takes.
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A minute’s silence: There’s a pre-kick-off pause to remember the former United and Villa manager, Tommy Docherty, who died a day or two ago. May he rest in peace.
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Not long now: The teams are out on the pitch, with Aston Villa first out, their players wearing black shirts, black shorts and ... I’m going with “light blue” socks. United follow them, their players wearing their customary home colours: red shirts, white shorts, black socks.
Exciting news: We have a Big Interview with the Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson going live imminently, which will be posted here for your half-time reading pleasure.
Premier League result: Everton 0-1 West Ham
A diabolically dull game of football has come to a merciful end at Goodison Park, where West Ham made off with the points courtesy of a Tomas Soucek stab from the edge of the six-yard box in the 86th minute.
Those teams: One change for Villa, for whom Tyrone Mings replaces Kourtney Hause.
Manchester United have four changes in personnel. Fred and Scott McTominay return in central midfield, while Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial also start.
Manchester United v Aston Villa line-ups
Manchester United: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw, Fred, McTominay, Pogba, Fernandes, Rashford, Martial
Subs: Henderson, Greenwood, Mata, James, Van de Beek, Tuanzebe, Telles, Matic, Lingard
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, Luiz, McGinn, Grealish, Traore, El Ghazi, Watkins
Subs: Heaton, Taylor, Hourihane, Nakamba, Hause, Guilbert, Elmohamady, Davis, Ramsey
Tonight's match officials
- Referee: Michael Oliver
- Assistants: Stuart Burt and Simon Bennett.
- Fourth official: Darren England.
- VAR: Paul Tierney.
- Assistant VAR: Lee Betts.
Early Aston Villa team news ...
Ross Barkley and Tyrone Mings return from injury and suspension respectively and could go straight into the starting line-up. Having instantly hit his stride with Villa, Barkley has not played since 21 November.
Trezeguet remains sidelined with a hamstring injury and has yet to participate in full training since pulling up the day before his side’s game against Wolves in mid-December.
Striker Wesley is a long-term absentee and is out indefinitely – today marks a year to the day since he suffered a devastating knee injury playing for his side against Burnley. We wish him well.
Early Manchester United team news ...
Victor Lindelof remains sidelined with a back injury, which means Eric Bailly is likely to deputise alongside Harry Maguire in the heart of United’s defence.
With Edinson Cavani suspended for three games after using a racial term in an Instagram post, which he swiftly removed and apologised for, Anthony Martial could start up front for United.
Scott McTominay and Fred were rested for United’s win over Wolves and could return this evening.
Premier League: Manchester United v Aston Villa
Happy New Year and welcome to our minute-by-minute coverage of the action from Old Trafford as Manchester United entertain Aston Villa. Both sides are flying high in the table, with Manchester United second behind Liverpool and Aston Villa scaling the unexpectedly dizzy heights of fifth after 14 games. Kick-off tonight at Old Trafford is at 8pm (GMT). Stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
