Alex Keble analyses Aston Villa's goalless draw at home to Manchester United.
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It was a match of few highlights, but perhaps that is exactly what Manchester United needed.
After a week of high drama and high stress for Man Utd, there is something to be said for the soothing effects of a 0-0 at Villa Park that will not live long in the memory.
United have gone from a combined six goals conceded against Tottenham Hotspur and Porto to a clean sheet against Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran. That is clearly progress for Erik ten Hag.
It wasn’t the worst result for Aston Villa, either, who remain level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea and averaging two points per match as we head into the international break.
Ten Hag’s game plan keeps Rogers quiet
The pragmatic strategy used by Ten Hag was visible from the very first minute, when goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez first got on the ball to find all 11 Man Utd bodies retreating to surround the Villa midfield.
It was a sign of just how deep Man Utd were prepared to sit as they looked to nullify the Villa attack.
It succeeded partly because of Villa’s tiredness and injury problems (more on that below), but United worked hard to squeeze space between the lines from within a low block 4-4-2 that cut off the supply line from Youri Tielemans and Ross Barkley into Morgan Rogers.
With Marcus Rashford coming very far infield from the left wing to help block the middle, and with Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund disciplined in the first line of defence, Villa could not play on the half-turn or split the United lines.
Other than a late chance for Jadon Philogene superbly blocked by Diogo Dalot, Villa created almost nothing, managing just one shot on target.
Pragmatism a positive step but attacking issues remain
Jonny Evans was exceptional, winning more aerial duels (five) and making more tackles (four) than any other player on the pitch, but this was all about the pragmatic and cautious team shape.
That is a positive step for United, and perhaps a new conservative foundation upon which to build following the leaky defence that has characterised their start to 2024/25.
However, with Brentford (H), Fenerbahce (A), West Ham United (A) and Leicester City (H) their next four matches in all competitions, there is of course work to be done in an attacking sense.
Having failed to score in each of their last three Premier League matches, United’s record of five goals scored from their opening seven league matches is their lowest tally since 1972/73.
“Defending and in possession we controlled the game,” Ten Hag told BBC Sport. That much is true. And a hard-fought 0-0 draw away against talented opposition means Ten Hag has a right to be proud of his team’s display.
“We proved in two very tough away games that this is a team,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports. “They showed the togetherness, the spirt, but also the belief and the faith.”
Villa hampered by injuries
This match was the first goalless draw at Villa Park in the Premier League since May 2021, 62 matches ago, while the combined expected goals total of the two teams (1.05) was the lowest in a match so far this season.
United’s strong defensive performance doesn’t entirely explain that. Aston Villa must take some of the responsibility, some of which was deliberate and some not.
Villa clearly wanted a slow match.
Fearful of United’s threat on the counter-attack, Martinez and the Villa defence constantly looked to slow things down.
They rarely risked a dangerous ball through the congested midfield because they did not want to get caught up in a transitional game.
That’s what happened in the 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town last weekend, when Diego Carlos was caught out by a Liam Delap-led counter.
So, we had United sitting deep, waiting, and Villa pausing on the ball, waiting. If you go back to the above screen grab from the second minute of the match, Martinez spent 26 seconds on the ball before releasing it.
That is not a recipe for an action-packed encounter.
But Emery will not have planned for a 0-0, and indeed a big part of the problem was Villa’s exhaustion after their 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich, while the absence of Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn sapped them of their usual energy.
Those absences limited Emery’s options from the bench, too, on a day when Duran failed to score a winning goal without impetus coming from deeper areas of the pitch.
Frankly the hosts never really got going. Almost every touch and pass was slightly off, creating a disjointedness that made it easy for United’s defensive set up to keep its shape.
And that’s why some will argue Man Utd should have risked opening up a little.
Their cagey shape made a lot of sense pre-match but with Villa off form, maybe Ten Hag’s approach was overly cautious.