Manchester United secured an impressive 4-2 comeback win over Aston Villa on Thursday to book their place in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.
Antony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay scored the goals for Erik ten Hag’s men in a game that had two completely different halves.
The first half of the game was one to forget for the supporters at Old Trafford as both teams struggled to create chances and trouble the goalkeepers.
Diogo Dalot had a header that went over the bar and Douglas Luiz’ tricky corner was almost saved off the line by McTominay. The game burst into life in the second half as Villa took the lead in the fixture through Ollie Watkins in the 48th minute.
The celebrations for Unai Emery’s men didn’t last long as United equalized within 19 seconds as Fernandes set up Martial for an easy finish.
Villa once again thought they had the advantage in the tie as Leon Bailey’s header went off Dalot’s foot into the net in the 61st minute. Once again, the Red Devils responded quickly as Rashford equalized in the 67th minute.
Ten Hag’s men then took full control of the game and put pressure on Villa’s defence which ultimately paid off in the 78th minute. Robin Olsen’s wayward pass fell to Alejandro Garnacho just outside the box and the Argentinian starlet setup Fernandes, who gave United the lead for the first time in the tie.
Garnacho troubled the Aston Villa defence during his cameo appearance and turned provider again to seal the win for Manchester United.
The winger put in a wonderful cross into the Villa box and it was nicked into the net by McTominay to send United through to the next round and get revenge on Emery’s side, who beat them 3-1 in the Premier League on Sunday.
