Manchester United close gap on top four with late McTominay winner at Villa Park
Rasmus Hojlund continued his remarkable renaissance by scoring in a fifth consecutive game but Scott McTominay continued a season of goalscoring heroics with an 87th minute winner that set alight Manchester United’s hopes of a top-four finish.
The Scotland international rose to head in Diogo Dalot’s late cross, punishing Villa for a string of missed chances and helping Erik ten Hag’s side move to within five points of the hosts.
Hojlund’s opening goal, his fifth in as many games after failing to score in his opening 14 league games, had put United in front, only for Douglas Luiz to equalise, after ten Hag had lost Luke Shaw to injury at the interval.
But McTominay made it seven for the season, and remains ten Hag’s leading league scorer, with every one of his goals having come in United wins.
An evenly-matched first half was separated by Hojlund’s strike although the opening goal owed as much to United defender Harry Maguire.
He repeatedly exploited his mis-match with marker Boubacar Kamara at corners and had threatened even before he rose to connect with Bruno Fernandes’s 17th minute flag kick.
His goal bound header dropped for the alert Hojlund who swung and converted with a clinical six-yard strike that gave Emiliano Martinez no chance in the Villa goal.
But the remainder of the best openings in the first period fell for Villa, only for the hosts to find United’s defence well organised and the reactions of keeper Andre Onana nigh on unbeatable.
Four times in around six minutes midway through the half, Villa carved out strong chances, with Onana making two fine stops, the first when John McGinn launched a terrific shot from the edge of the area which the keeper turned away with a flying stop.
Then McGinn played a
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