Manchester United welcomed Aston Villa as they looked to again close down a finishing position in the top four. Sunderland’s win over Norwich meant that The Villans had to win this game, anything else would confirm their relegation to the Championship – the first time in the club’s history.
The game started as expected, with Aston Villa sitting deep and not allowing much space for United to operate – it was a sight that United fans have becoming worryingly accustomed to over the course of the season.
However, the deadlock was broken by United in the first half by teenager Marcus Rashford who netted his seventh goal in twelve games after he neatly tucked away a cross by Antonio Valencia who had returned to the starting line-up.
The rest of the game panned out as expected. United were in utter control, but nobody really showed urgency and the game started to fizzle out. Rudy Gestede’s introduction in the last 10 minutes gave United some worry, but in the end, the game ended with a comfortable 1-0 win for United as they remain in the hunt for a top-four finish.
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