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Man United vs Aston Villa: Inferior tactics and lack of intensity contribute to another defeat


Manchester United faced Aston Villa in game week 6 of the 2021-2022 English Premier League season. The early kickoff on September 25, 2021 was an opportunity for both teams to build on a positive start to the league campaign.

Team News: McFred and Cavani return

Ole Gunner Solskjær named a strong starting XI. Notably, Fred Rodrigues and Scott McTominay were back at center midfield. Paul Pogba started as attacking midfielder on the left flank. The starting lineup is believed to be preferred by Ole in the most important games.

Edinson Cavani returned to match day squad after injury.

Match Report: United 0 Villa 1

United started the match brightly. The team had couple of good chances in the first quarter of the game.

Villa missed a glorious opportunity to go ahead from a cross. On the other end Mason Greenwood had his weak shot saved by Villa goalkeeper.

United continued good attacking play and both teams had their share of chances to take the lead. At the half hour mark Luke Shaw was replaced by Diogo Dalot due to injury.

Overall average first half from United. Solskjær tried swapping Pogba and Greenwood on the flanks. United lacked pedigree in defense to attack transition play. Goalless at the break.

Aston Villa scored from a corner in the final quarter. United got a lifeline to secure a point after handed a penalty in the stoppage time.

You would expect that the world’s greatest goalscorer would take such a crucial penalty. But only United could make a horrible exception to that. Instead of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes took the penalty and missed.

The incident also goes to show the lack of communication and planning from Ole. How on earth Ole let anyone other than Ronaldo take that penalty? Even schoolboys don’t make these silly decisions!

Talking Points: Lack of cohesion, intensity and inferior tactics.

While it’s down to United’s abysmal display at home – the only goal was indeed an offside goal. English football association has been a massive failure to maintain consistency in referring and VAR operations. It has been an important factor to recent United results.

The top problems are – from Ole’s position – inferior tactics; and from the players – lack of intensity. These are main contributors to 3 defeats in 4 games.

Ole was outclassed once again by opponent coach. The squad is strong. It’s the system, the style of play that’s holding the team back. Ole will need to take a good look himself and assess what brand of football he wants to play. Because what we saw today at Old Trafford is not United standard.

Defending has been worrying at times. It’s not a new story. The back 4 yet to find its cohesion and rhythm. Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw particularly looked lethargic.

The team needs to play with cohesion. It’s not about Ronaldo or any other individual. Passing is good when team players are connected together. There needs to be a flow and rhythm. As soon as United obtain possession the ball, all these opponents are very quick to defend aggressively. Our intensity has been drastically low comparing to the opponent’s. The intensity, team cohesion come from the tactical shape and fitness.

There are plenty of options at the bench but Ole and his coaching team tend to adhere to pre-match plans. They seem too slow to respond to in game tactics from opponents and momentum shifts. We should expect opponents to waste time, be very physical and highly motivated when they play against United. May be 4-2-3-1 is not the way to go. May be too much rotation is affecting team cohesion. Ole has to make crucial decisions and United supporters are behind him.

What’s next for United? A long run of fixtures against top teams in the league and Europe. Challenging times ahead. Clock’s ticking for Ole Gunnar Solskjær and his team.


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