The loss that Manchester United suffered on Sunday at Aston Villa brought an end to their nine-game win streak that they had been riding.
Villa, which was being managed for the very first time by Unai Emery, got off to a strong start and had a two-goal lead within the first 11 minutes of the match. The first goal was scored by Leon Bailey with a powerful strike that beat David de Gea. The second goal was scored by Lucas Digne with a free-kick that was curled in.
After regaining their composure, the Reds were able to cut the deficit in half when Jacob Ramsey scored an own goal by redirecting a shot by Luke Shaw. This was a huge break for the Reds. The youngster made amends for his earlier mistake shortly after the game was restarted when he finished off an Ollie Watkins assist to put United out of the contest.
Following a disappointing day at Villa Park, we bring you four highlights from the match that you might have missed due to the loss.
1) Erik ten Hag's captaincy dilemma
Ten Hag was faced with a difficult decision regarding who would wear the captain's armband when the team traveled to Villa Park because Bruno Fernandes was given a suspension for the game and Harry Maguire is not currently with the United team. The thought of using David de Gea crossed the Dutchman's mind, but ultimately he decided against it because he believes that a goalkeeper must sometimes be stationed too far from the action.
Casemiro was also in the running for the position; however, it was determined that his command of the English language is not yet at the level required for him to effectively communicate with his fellow teammates. As a result, the choice was made to hand the captain's armband off to Ronaldo.
2) Erik ten Hag keen to get his point across
The Reds were able to somewhat recover from a disastrous start thanks to Ramsey's own goal, which kept the match in a precarious balance going into the halftime break. Ten Hag was about to launch into an important halftime speech to the team.
The Dutch coach did not feel satisfied with simply letting his players wait on the field for the game to resume after the halftime break; instead, he went out onto the field prior to the start of the second half to continue giving instructions. The manner in which United began the second half demonstrates that his strategy was unsuccessful.
3) Diogo Dalot suspension
It was not clear during the game on Sunday what Dalot did to warrant receiving a yellow card, but the fact that he was booked in the 72nd minute resulted in a costly play for his team. Due to his suspension, the Portuguese fullback will not be able to travel with United to Fulham the following weekend for the club's final match before the World Cup.
Dalot will be suspended for the upcoming Premier League match due to his accumulation of five yellow cards, but he will be available for selection during the midweek Carabao Cup match between United and Villa, which will take place at Old Trafford.
4) The run that United has had at Villa comes to an end
As United traveled to Villa Park, they did so with history on their side. Before the game on Sunday afternoon, Villa had not defeated the Reds at home in the league for the previous 23 games.
Since 1999, Villa had nine different times taken the lead against United in one of their league meetings, but they had never won any of those matches. They were able to improve those statistics on Sunday, which allowed Emery to get off to a winning start and secure all three points.
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