MANCHESTER UNITED’s stars showed they are fighting for Erik ten Hag in a dramatic home victory over Aston Villa.
The Red Devils came from two goals down to beat the high-flying Villans at Old Trafford.
Man Utd fell behind after two sloppy goals in the first-half but that seemed to push the players on.
The hosts closed out the first half on top as they created a hatful chances to no avail.
Marcus Rashford showed his passion for the team as he cut a frustrated figure at times when things were not quite working.
The forward was back in the starting XI and determined to make amends as he had one of his best games of the season.
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Former player Patrice Evra said during the break that he thought United had been the better side and that if they continued to push, they would win.
And rightly so, as Ten Hag’s players showed that they meant business after the match resumed.
Alejandro Garnacho had a goal ruled out for offside but was not deterred and fired home twice in quick succession to bring United level.
Despite getting their first two goals since December 6, they wanted more.
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Rasmus Hojlund grabbed his first goal in the Premier League in the 82nd minute to win the game for United – with the relief etched all over his face as he roared and fought back tears, later calling it the “happiest day of my life”.
And our momentum meter proved United were not downbeat after slipping behind.
At 2-0 down after 26 minutes, our data shows the players were itching to get back into the game and started to dominate Villa.
And the momentum stayed with the hosts well into the second half – with Garnacho’s disallowed goal seemingly only further stoking their fire.
United made more tackles than the visitors as they battled to win the ball back – and, eventually, the game.
Garnacho admitted at full-time that he told the dressing room at half-time to “keep pressing” and they could get back into the game.
He told Amazon Prime: “I said in the changing room [at half-time] we just needed one goal to get back in the game so it was just: score and keep pressing.
“So I am very happy. I am happy for Rasmus also for his first goal.
“Too many people talk about Man United strikers not scoring goals but you can see Rashford with assists and goals for me and Rasmus so we are very happy.”
Garnacho was one of United’s standout players and his heat map shows that he was everywhere.
The attacker would switch to the left wing in order to mix up United’s attacks.
Bruno Fernandes also put in a captain’s performance as his heat map shows him covering almost every blade of grass at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag also revealed that he insisted to his players that they needed to “keep believing” and they could get back into the contest.
He said: “We said at half-time ‘keep believing, keep doing what we did and do it even more – get to 2-1 and see what can happen.
“I said before the game we are competitive with Arsenal, we are competitive with Liverpool so if we play our best we can beat anyone – so believe in that.
“Even when you are 2-0 down it doesn’t matter – keep going.”
Ten Hag will be happy to see the fight from his players after pressure had started to mount on his job.
Speaking to the BBC, the Dutchman added: “Keep believing. I think our fans they deserved it.
“They are always behind us and we’ve had so many setbacks. So I’m really pleased from the performance of this team. What kind of team can handle and deal with the amount of setbacks we have had?
“They are resilient, they have showed character and their personality to turn it around. I am very pleased with the performance of this team.
“Keep going, even when you get setbacks. Again we had so many setbacks today as well. Two set plays and we lose focus, also you can say very well done from Villa.
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“But we created moments in the first half and you get disappointed you don’t score. Straight after half-time we have a goal which is offside.
“But I am very pleased with the strength of my team and the character the team showed.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
