Manchester Utd v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[AV82EC]

It is a wasted opportunity but it’s Unai’s way away from home. He seems very reluctant to push away from home preferring instead a much more considered and calm approach keeping us in the game until unleashing later on. However that was fraught with risk today as the two things happened that we knew would:

A Man Yoo team with no pressure were able to get a foothold in the game they never relinquished

And we played like a bunch of idiots.

Sigh.

[PeterWithesShin]

Considering the shit run they are on, going 1-0 down at home to 10 men may well have caused them to fall apart and the crowd to turn on them.

[brontebilly]

Surpassed even the surrender at Wembley. Impossible to describe how bad we were. Somehow we were still in the game until the ref rode us. Joe Cole calling it right here, we didn't show up. Against the worst Man United team in living memory. A striker at 50% level of Rooney/Van Persie gets a hat trick, Hojlund was arguably our best player. Right from the first minute we had stage fright. At least Palace has liked of Eze, this United team had basically nobody.

Unfathomable decision not to start Mings given what was at stake. But Cash and then Martinez made a collosal fuck up before half time. Emery sat on his hands far too long with subs, though Ramsey made no impact, could have helped Maatsen for the first. Emerys faith in his two big summer signings was unfortunately badly misplaced. That's the last we should see of Onana, complete fraud. Watkins and Rogers were pathetic

Martinez 0 - I think his starting position is wrong, when Cash checks back he should be much higher up. But he just lost it then, for such an experienced player it just beggared belief.
Cash 4 - terrible pass obviously. Tried hard in second half to make up for it in fairness, won a good few tackles. Looked our most likely to score which says a lot
Konsa 5 - the only one of our back 5 not to make a crazy error on the day. But a leader, no chance.
Torres 3 - rubbish. Caught in possession at start of second half that should have been punished. Distribution poor and chocolate teapot presence wise.
Maatsen 0 - Second half from hell, surpassing Konsa at Ipswich as worst individual performance of the season. At fault for both goals. That foul for penalty was embarrassing with ball going towards corner flag. His head was gone early in second half and Emery should have recognised it and brought Digne in.
Rogers 2 - zero support for Cash defensively and just offered zilch with it either. Attitude a bit suspect. Fatigue obviously an issue in a great season but Emery far too loyal to him.
Onana 1 - the absolute end for me and the first man out the door this summer. Couldn't trap a bag of sand, whinging when he was eventually taken off was laughable. 50m!!
Kamara 4 - not good enough again in a big game. Picked it up a bit in second half with Cash on that side. Seemed flat
McGinn 3 - game passed our captain by. For once I couldn't complain with him being hooked early.
Asensio - unfortunate really, one of the few to get a pass early on and then had to come off after Martinez moment of madness.
Watkins 3 - dreadful, his first half performance was just rotten from one of our most experienced players. That mahogany first touch in full display. Somehow made a mess of putting Ramsey through in second

Ramsey made little impact, Tielemans was decent enough. Olsen made one great save but Martinez at his best probably puts Anand into A&E for the first. Barkley and Malen didnt get enough time.

Emery - sadly a repeat of the Palace big freeze. 66 point season still a fine achievement but we blew it spectacularly today. Can't fathom leaving Mings out today or at Wembley. Rogers on right again... predictably didn't work. Two managerial blindspots there. Had a right to expect more of his two big signings, Maatsen and Onana, who flopped massively today. Too slow to make changes, like his players he just froze.

Might be a bit early on getting rid of Onana but I take the rest of the above points. Asensio off was a call I thought was strange at the time as he was performing decently and looked a threat in playing Watkins in with balls on the ground.

It was harsh on Asensio but the right change. With 10, you need mobile players and Asensio isn't one.

Onana and Torres should have gone at half time. Mings pace alone would have been of benefit but his leadership was absolutely required then. Tielemans came on anyway around the hour but this was absolutely not a day for giving players a bit more time. First half, some stat floating around that Man United had their highest xG of season! Still hard to believe how bad we were.

[Somniloquism]

If it's the one I'm thinking of they were level to the naked eye but as he was making an attempt to play the ball at most it'd have been a yellow card, which can't be given on review (for some reason). In much the same vein the Diallo foul on Onana was 100% a yellow card but the ref didn't give it so couldn't be checked. Given Diallo then got a yellow 25mins later before going on to score the opener there's a fair argument that he was lucky to be on the pitch to score it.

That only works if in the box and a penalty was also given. If outside the box it is a red card still if a DOGSO. However as I mentioned it might have fallen down the cracks of VAR options as maybe it needs the ref to blow for the foul for it to be reviewed for a red, similar to the FA Cup one last week.

[taylorsworkrate]

Clearly, we have been on the wrong end of a poor decision. However, I cannot feel too angry about it. The "effort" our players put in today was beyond an embarrassment

[Luffbralion]

A woeful performance '''especially galling because other results went our way.

There is endless commentary about the financial gulf between the Premier League and the EFL but the gap between the Champions League and the Europa League appears enormous. Today's defeat looks to be very troubling for our finances.

I noticed a comment on Twitter that we have the sixth highest wage bill in the League...can not see how we sustain that without the Champions League revenue.

[ASHTONVILLA]

Bad day at the office, like the FA cup semi. We do seem to choke at big matches and I am sure there will be a shake up in the summer to rectify this. We have come a long way when missing out on Champions League on goal difference is seen as a bad season.

On the plus side, I'm considerably less arsed about losing Martinez now.

[Crown Hill]

Frustrating day. So much thanks for Unai but he does consistently make strange decisions despite a wonderful record

Why not play away as we do at home?

Why play Torres rather than Mings?

Why play Onana and Kamara together when it means we can’t play possession football?

Why play the ball around the back when we aren’t dominating possession?

Why play Asensio when it means Roger’s can’t play in his most effective position?

[paul_e]

If it's the one I'm thinking of they were level to the naked eye but as he was making an attempt to play the ball at most it'd have been a yellow card, which can't be given on review (for some reason). In much the same vein the Diallo foul on Onana was 100% a yellow card but the ref didn't give it so couldn't be checked. Given Diallo then got a yellow 25mins later before going on to score the opener there's a fair argument that he was lucky to be on the pitch to score it.

That only works if in the box and a penalty was also given. If outside the box it is a red card still if a DOGSO. However as I mentioned it might have fallen down the cracks of VAR options as maybe it needs the ref to blow for the foul for it to be reviewed for a red, similar to the FA Cup one last week.

You misunderstand me, I'm not talking double jeopardy here, I'm saying it wasn't enough to be a red card, he made a genuine attempt at the bal land at most was a little clumsy. As it was given offside they didn't really show many angles of it but it might not even have been a foul. I don't think we can have many complaints with that one, or with the Emi sending off.

The decisions I'm not happy with are not booking Diallo for going studs up into Onana, blowing up too early for Rogers 'goal' and giving them a very soft penalty that Diallo clearly played for by dangling out a leg where Maatsen couldn't really do much to avoid it.

[john e]

A woeful performance '''especially galling because other results went our way.

There is endless commentary about the financial gulf between the Premier League and the EFL but the gap between the Champions League and the Europa League appears enormous. Today's defeat looks to be very troubling for our finances.

I noticed a comment on Twitter that we have the sixth highest wage bill in the League...can not see how we sustain that without the Champions League revenue.

We’ve been in the champions league once since it started 33 years ago
i can’t believe we’re set up to rely on qualifying every year now, obviously would have been a lot better on the financial side though

[BC Villain]

Bottom line.  We failed to get CL because of our inability to beat Ipswich twice.

Undoubtedly done over by the officials today, but like Palace, come the big occasion we play like a bunch of started rabbits.   

[brontebilly]

If it's the one I'm thinking of they were level to the naked eye but as he was making an attempt to play the ball at most it'd have been a yellow card, which can't be given on review (for some reason). In much the same vein the Diallo foul on Onana was 100% a yellow card but the ref didn't give it so couldn't be checked. Given Diallo then got a yellow 25mins later before going on to score the opener there's a fair argument that he was lucky to be on the pitch to score it.

That only works if in the box and a penalty was also given. If outside the box it is a red card still if a DOGSO. However as I mentioned it might have fallen down the cracks of VAR options as maybe it needs the ref to blow for the foul for it to be reviewed for a red, similar to the FA Cup one last week.

You misunderstand me, I'm not talking double jeopardy here, I'm saying it wasn't enough to be a red card, he made a genuine attempt at the bal land at most was a little clumsy. As it was given offside they didn't really show many angles of it but it might not even have been a foul. I don't think we can have many complaints with that one, or with the Emi sending off.

The decisions I'm not happy with are not booking Diallo for going studs up into Onana, blowing up too early for Rogers 'goal' and giving them a very soft penalty that Diallo clearly played for by dangling out a leg where Maatsen couldn't really do much to avoid it.

Maatsen could have done plenty to avoid it.

[andyh]

I fucking hate the term ‘bad day at the office’  especially when we have been battered and the shitshow has cost us the chance to be in the most elite European competition there is.

It’s a ‘bad day at the office’ that will cost the club £50m plus.
See the selling of top players
Prevent the signing of top, top players who want the lure of  playing in the  best competition.
Remove the kudos and prestige of being recognised as playing in the CL.
And being seen as a twatish for blowing it so spectacularly.


Yeah, just a bad day at the office.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

People know we went 1-0 up away from home with 10 men, right?

The point is we didn’t technically because the ref blew up before the ball hit the back of the net. If he’d have let play run, like they do when a player is obviously 5 yards off, VAR could have looked at it and hopefully made the correct decision. Goals change games but we weren’t afforded that luxury.

[Tuscans]

Aston Villa can confirm the club has written to the PGMOL to raise concerns over the selection process of match officials following today’s game with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

With such high stakes surrounding today’s fixture, the club believe a more experienced referee should have been appointed. Of the 10 referees to officiate across the Premier League today, Mr. Bramall was the 2nd least experienced.

The decision to disallow Morgan Rogers' goal, which would have given the club a 1-0 lead with 17 minutes remaining in the match, was a major contributing factor to the club not qualifying for the Champions League.

As per the standards that have been established over the course of the season, a decision to whistle early is clearly inconsistent with current refereeing guidelines. VAR exists to ensure that these types of situations receive the scrutiny they deserve. Unfortunately, the technology was not allowed to serve its purpose. 

Ultimately, we acknowledge that the outcome for us will not change, but we believe that it is important to address the selection methodology to ensure that high stakes matches are treated as such with regards to officiating and to ensure that the implemented VAR technology is allowed to be effective.