Aston Villa suffered a 2-0 defeat to Man Utd on Sunday, and although it was a deserved win for the hosts, it was marred by a controversial decision.
Goals from Amad Diallo and Christian Eriksen sealed the win for the home side, which ultimately ended our hopes of qualifying for the Champions League as we’ll prepare for the Europa League instead next season.
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However, just minutes prior to Man Utd breaking the deadlock, Morgan Rogers thought he had given us the lead after dispossessing goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, but it was ultimately ruled out as the referee blew his whistle and took VAR out of the equation.
It was a shambolic and costly decision from the official as it would likely have stood and perhaps changed the entire complexion of the game in the closing 20 minutes or so, but Villa will be disappointed ahead of a big summer.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Manchester United:
Emiliano Martinez, 4 – Brilliant start to the game as he made a string of crucial saves to keep it level, but after being sold short by a dreadful pass by Cash, he was sent off in what could end up being his last game for us after wiping Hojlund out and denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Matty Cash, 4 – As noted above, it was his shocking pass that left Martinez in all sorts of trouble, while he was sloppy and limited throughout as he didn’t give us enough quality down the right side.
Ezri Konsa, 6 – Was the only member of our backline who showed a bit of composure and avoided making errors, but there wasn’t enough to match that around him in such a poor performance.
Pau Torres, 5 – In a game that arguably needed the presence and leadership of Tyrone Mings, Pau was preferred and didn’t give us the control in possession and tempo needed as his distribution was off in a game where everyone struggled.
Ian Maatsen, 5 – Made some key mistakes in the second half with Diallo ghosting in at the back post to head home the opener before giving away the penalty.
Boubacar Kamara, 5.5 – Tried to assert himself in midfield and although he was important at times out of possession, he didn’t give us enough control or quality with the ball and that hurt us.
Amadou Onana, 5.5 – Similar story to Kamara as he covered ground and put himself about, but there wasn’t enough quality to retain possession and get a foothold in the game as we were well off it.
John McGinn, 5 – Off the mark with his finishing as he had openings from distance, and he had a hard time tracking back as United looked a threat going down that side and caught us out in behind on multiple occasions.
Marco Asensio, 5 – Sacrificed after Martinez’s red card, but prior to that didn’t provide us with enough quality in the attacking third. Hard for him to do so given the poor effort collectively, but needed him to step up in a big game to have a bigger influence.
Morgan Rogers, 5 – Should have opened the scoring but his goal was wrongly ruled out before VAR could intervene. That moment aside, was pretty limited in posing a threat in the final third.
Ollie Watkins, 5 – Didn’t have the service as he was often outfought in the air by Maguire, but he was poor in holding play up too and couldn’t give us a direct threat in front of goal by exposing the space that United left in their defensive third given our poor build-up play.
Substitutes:
Robin Olsen, 5 – Difficult situation for him to come on in as he ended his Villa career in disappointing fashion.
Youri Tielemans, 5.5 – Great to have him back as he started to influence things in midfield, but wasn’t enough to rescue us.
Jacob Ramsey, 5 – Limited impact in the latter stages as although he injected fresh energy, there wasn’t enough quality to go with it.
Ross Barkley, N/A
Donyell Malen, N/A
