Manchester United ground out a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa on Sunday in a game steeped in speculation about the future of the visitors' under-fire manager Erik ten Hag amid the team's worst start in the Premier League era.
Their points tally is United's lowest in their opening seven matches of a Premier League campaign and their lowest in any league season since 1989-90 (seven points), when they went on to finish 13th under Alex Ferguson -- his lowest league finish as manager.
United's woeful start to the season has put Ten Hag back in the spotlight and the team's entire senior leadership -- co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth, and technical director Jason Wilcox -- were in attendance at Villa Park for what many believed was a pivotal game for the manager.
United played with considerably more confidence and togetherness than their previous two matches -- a woeful 3-0 league loss to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend followed by a 3-3 Europa League draw with FC Porto on Thursday that saw them give up a two-goal lead.
United's Marcus Rashford had a couple of near misses, with Villa keeper Martinez, who was forced into a diving save in the game's early minutes, leaping to push a shot over the bar soon after halftime.
Ten Hag's Bold Team Selection
From training at Boavista the morning after Harry Maguire’s stoppage-time intervention against Porto to a grey Sunday afternoon in Birmingham. Kobbie Mainoo was among those involved in Friday’s session exclusively designed for players, Alejandro Garnacho aside, who did not begin the draw and Mainoo returned to the starting lineup here as one of four changes. Ten Hag’s boldest calls, however, came in defence with Jonny Evans, 37 in January, and Maguire, 31, parachuted into the heart of the United backline in place of Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez. Ten Hag’s team selection prompted Gary Neville to joke he thought he and his brother, Phil, may be playing at full-back. At least it seemed he was joking. Maguire only made it until half-time after picking up an apparent muscle injury deep into stoppage time that left him with a giant hole in his sock and required him to be helped off the pitch by two members of United’s medical staff.
A Defensive Masterclass?
Though they were far from fluent going forward, United put in a solid defensive showing to earn a point at Villa Park. Erik ten Hag's future at Manchester United remains unclear, but his side put in a spirited showing against Aston Villa on Sunday to earn a 0-0 draw against Unai Emery's in-form side.
Marcus Rashford had the first effort of the game as he cut inside and forced Emiliano Martinez into a save, and while Villa threatened through Morgan Rogers and Jaden Philogene, United looked relatively comfortable in defence.
Rashford again tested Martinez after the break while Andre Onana kept out a long-range effort from Youri Tielemans at the other end. Bruno Fernandes then went closest to breaking the deadlock when he hit the crossbar from a free-kick, but in the end, neither side could force a breakthrough and had to settle for a point each.
Evans Emerges as a Hero
Victor Lindelöf entered in place of Noussair Mazraoui and Martínez for Maguire. At first glance the United team sheet felt like a strange act of self-sabotage by Ten Hag. Villa are dynamic in attack and break with speed and gusto. Morgan Rogers is dangerous on the half-turn and when Christian Eriksen was booked after clipping Rogers inside two and half minutes it set an ominous tone for what was to come. A few minutes later Rogers manoeuvred into a hole behind Mainoo and Eriksen and cannoned an effort wide that smacked the hoardings and rippled the rear of André Onana’s net. Some of those Villa fans down the opposite end thought it was in.
Evans, an emergency signing last year, was never supposed to still be here, heading crosses away at the core of this spluttering United machine, but, to his credit, he was arguably United’s best player. “Jonny Evans is a red,” crooned the away support as he made a timely tackle on Rogers before halting Ross Barkley moments later. It was Evans who sniffed out the danger when Rogers, again profiting from space behind United’s defence and midfield, freed Ollie Watkins. Onana later saved well from Youri Tielemans, unmarked on the edge of the D, after United switched off at a corner.
A Point in a Season of Struggles
While that goalless draw was an improvement on some of Manchester United's other recent results, it confirms their worst start to a league season since the 1989-90 campaign.
They have amassed just eight points from their opening seven games (two wins, two draws and three defeats).
In the aforementioned 1989-90 season, they finished 13th, which would be Alex Ferguson's lowest league finish as United manager.
He didn't do too badly after that, to be fair...
What's Next for Ten Hag?
As for Manchester United, this is mostly what we’ve seen of them. They have a level and they can cause any opponent issues — be it in attack or being defensively stubborn. Although maybe not both at the same time.
Whether these 90 minutes move anything on in terms of the narrative and pressure surrounding Erik ten Hag? That seems very unlikely. It was ineffective, it came with some really unconvincing individual performances… and yet, they picked up a point at Villa Park to go with it all.
It remains to be seen how much battery life is left in Ten Hag’s role at United.
A Glimpse into Villa's Future
Given Aston Villa’s season has been promising so far, and they had that stirring Champions League win over Bayern Munich in midweek, they may well not mind sweeping up another point on a day when little seemed to come off. In fact, their biggest issue may be the injury picked up by Ezri Konsa early in the game. That may well rule him out of England duty, but Unai Emery will be more concerned about the other side of the two-week international break.
What Now for the Red Devils?
Manchester United's draw at Villa Park signifies a continued lack of attacking potency, a worrying sign for a team that aims for higher ambitions. The club's hierarchy will undoubtedly be taking stock of the situation during the international break. It remains to be seen whether Ten Hag can pull his team out of their rut and steer them back towards the success they aspire to achieve. This match, however, served as a stark reminder of the challenges ahead.
