Manchester United came from two goals behind twice to draw 4-4 at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.
It took exactly one minute for the visitors to grab the lead, with Alysson nutmegging Senne Lammens following some tame Man Utd defending. Things quickly went from bad to worse for the Red Devils, who found themselves two behind three minutes later as Nicolas Jackson pounced on the rebound after Lammens diverted an Alysson shot into a dangerous area.
Carrick’s side were given a lifeline when Boubacar Kamara brought down Matheus Cunha inside the box, allowing Bruno Fernandes to dispatch the resulting penalty. Youri Tielemans then drew the hosts level just before half-time, netting his first goal in a Manchester United shirt against the club they bought him from.
But Man Utd once again lost all composure right after half-time, with Diogo Dalot felling Alysson inside the box and John McGinn slotting home the subsequent spot-kick. Eight minutes later, Villa regained complete control of the match as Leon Goretzka poked home his first-ever Premier League goal after Leny Yoro had diverted a McGinn free-kick onto his own crossbar.
For all of their issues, however, you cannot question the commitment these Man Utd players have to Michael Carrick. The Red Devils’ comeback was kick-started in stoppage time, with Joshua Zirkzee diverting a cross from fellow substitute Patrick Dorgu into the back of Zion Suzuki‘s net. Dorgu then completed the job himself, heading home a Fernandes cross after a woeful attempt to collect it by Suzuki.
Man Utd’s defensive woes continue
There is a lot to dislike about Manchester United right now, but their comeback win over Roma during the week, and their ability to claw themselves back level twice here at least showed they have something to cling to in attack.
The problem is that there is absolutely no structure, cohesion or direction at the other end of the pitch, with the 20-time English champions, quite frankly, a defensive mess.
Each of Villa’s four goals on Sunday was a comedy of errors to behold, coming as the result of defenders switching off, a lack of communication, and errors on a fundamental level.
The Red Devils have now leaked a massive 30 goals across all competitions this season, which is the joint-highest of any side across Europe’s top five leagues.
If that reading isn’t terrifying enough for Man Utd supporters, their side have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 11 matches, conceding 24 goals during that time at a rate of 2.18 per match.
It really doesn’t matter what the likes of Fernandes, Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Co. do at the other end. If Man Utd’s defence keeps giving up easy goals at the rate they currently are, they will just keep dropping points. It really is that simple.
Grim reality settling in at Old Trafford
Manchester United went into the 10th game of this Premier League season sitting 19th and only off the bottom thanks to a better goal difference than Crystal Palace. Even after the late dramatics here, they will go into the second international break of the campaign 18th.
10 games, one win, four defeats and just eight points.
It feels like it couldn’t get much worse for this Goliath of English and European football, but it really could.
Man Utd travel to Anfield to take on arch-rivals Liverpool following the upcoming break, before a seriously testing away tie at Portuguese giants Sporting CP.
They have a manager under serious pressure in Carrick, who faces the very real possibility of losing his job. And even if the powers that be at Old Trafford pull the trigger and call for change, they will lose no heat from the supporters, who continue to almost exclusively blame those upstairs for their club’s current failings.
It feels like everybody at Manchester United is in a no-win situation, and if they’re not exceedingly careful over the next four or five games, they may legitimately find themselves in a relegation scrap. Especially with the likes of Sunderland, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Coventry pulling out results of late.
That is the very grim reality for Manchester United right now, and that is why there was very little celebration at full-time on Sunday. Even with scoring two goals in stoppage time to snatch a result, in a way this club has become famous for over the years.
Nicolas Jackson continues stunning start at Aston Villa
We cannot sit here and simply lambast Man Utd for this performance or exult in their comeback. Not when Villa went to Old Trafford, scored four goals and came within inches of a famous win.
Here, we want to give huge credit to the tip of the Aston Villa spear: Nicolas Jackson.
The Senegalese striker could never have been viewed as a flop for his time at Chelsea. After all, he notched double-figure goal tallies both in the Premier League and across all competitions during his two years at Stamford Bridge, despite never fully holding down a starting place.
However, Jackson would certainly have felt like he had a point to prove joining Villa over the summer after playing second fiddle to Harry Kane on loan at Bayern Munich last season. Not to mention some huge shoes to fill in the form of Ollie Watkins.
Jackson has done a brilliant job so far, and this was a performance that exemplifies his impact for the Villans.
It was Jackson who was on hand to knock home the rebound from Alysson’s shot and put Villa 2-0 up after just four minutes. An instinctive striker’s goal from Jackson and ruthless punishment for Man Utd goalkeeper Lammens, who couldn’t get the ball to safety.
The 25-year-old maintained a relentless work rate throughout the match, covering 10.2km and contesting five ground duels, while bringing his teammates into play with two chances created and 30 touches of the ball.
One of those chances created allowed Goretzka to make it 4-2 in the 53rd minute — and that really should have been a clinching goal. Jackson deserved more than a draw here.
But in the process, Jackson moved on to six goals and an assist in eight Premier League matches for Aston Villa, with no teammate matching his seven direct goal involvements. And that’s without considering his three goals in just four Champions League appearances.
Villa appear to have struck gold with Jackson, who has made the process of replacing Ollie Watkins far smoother than it otherwise could have been.