Magic moment ends 1,000-minute wait as Manchester United make ‘brilliant’ comeback against Villa

From agony to ecstasy. From jeers to cheers.

Manchester United looked destined for yet another frustrating defeat heading into halftime on Wednesday morning, trailing Aston Villa 2-0 at Old Trafford.

But an inspired performance from the Red Devils has — at least temporarily — eased the pressure on manager Erik Ten Hag as his team stormed home to claim a thrilling 3-2 win.

The win saw United jump into the top six while Villa remains in third place, blowing yet another opportunity to climb up to a share of top spot on the table.

Making matters worse for Villa was an injury to Lucas Digne, who hobbled off in the 49th minute after a desperate attempt to save a United goal that was later disallowed.

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Ten Hag had spoken about the importance of the first goal after United’s loss to West Ham, adding they had “created three good chances” but all it took was “one moment of switching off” to fall behind and not recover.

Unfortunately for the United boss he didn’t get the start he was after on Wednesday, with Villa getting the first goal on the board in the 22nd minute.

It came courtesy of a John McGinn free kick which soared through uncontested by the defence and goalkeeper André Onana, who made a poor attempt to stop the ball.

Villa winger Leon Bailey was strangely stationed right behind Onana seemingly in an attempt to distract the United keeper and it was a successful strategy based on the result for the visitors.

The VAR checked for offside but Ollie Watkins was ruled to have not made a touch on the way through, seeing the goal stand.

Unfortunately for United it only took a few minutes for Villa to double its lead, again from a set piece but this time coming off a corner in the 26th minute.

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