Manchester United vs Aston Villa LIVE: FA Cup result, final score and reaction from third-round fixture tonight
All the action as the Red Devils and the Villains fight it out at Old Trafford for a place in the fourth round
Manchester United are a mess but that mess is through to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Aston Villa should really be the ones progressing to play Middlesbrough on the balance of play at Old Trafford last night, as Steven Gerrard’s side continue to quietly impress and gradually improve under a newly-appointed manager who is having a tangible, positive effect on his players. The same cannot yet be said of United and Ralf Rangnick.
But courtesy of Scott McTominay’s early header, United march on and Rangnick picked up a valuable win after a week in which his interim spell in charge has threatened to unravel. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s temporary successor is still moulding this big, bloated squad into his image; still waiting for a statement performance, and on this evidence, there is still a long way to go too, but at least he has a little more breathing room.
A response was needed after last week’s defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Villa will leave feeling that they played just as well as their neighbours in the west Midlands, only with nothing to show for their efforts. From the moment they went behind to McTominay’s header to the final whistle, they were the better side and fed off a febrile atmosphere, which was only heightened by Gerrard’s presence in the away dugout. Yet for all their opportunities and contentiously disallowed Danny Ings equaliser, they were eliminated. Follow all the reaction below as Man United beat Aston Villa:
Fortunate Manchester United squeeze past Aston Villa to set up FA Cup meeting with Middlesbrough
FA Cup fourth round draw: Non-league Kidderminster to host West Ham, Chelsea face Plymouth 
Raphael Varane keen to help Manchester United end five-year trophy drought
Steven Gerrard not underestimating size of Aston Villa’s task in facing Manchester United
Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Steven Gerrard not underestimating size of Aston Villa’s task in facing Manchester United
Steven Gerrard says Ralf Rangnick needs time to put his stamp on Manchester United and insists Aston Villa are not under-estimating the size of their FA Cup task at Old Trafford.
Interim United boss Rangnick has had a turbulent week after a first defeat of his reign to Wolves was followed by reports of dressing room disharmony, with as many as 17 players said to be unhappy.
But Villa boss Gerrard is taking no notice of the noise swirling around United, as the former Liverpool midfielder makes his FA Cup managerial bow against a familiar adversary.
Steven Gerrard not underestimating size of Villa’s task in facing Manchester United
The former Liverpool captain makes his managerial bow in the FA Cup after twice winning it as a player at Anfield.
Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Dalot on the FA Cup
Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot says the FA Cup is the best domestic cup competition that he’s played in and wants to be ifting the trophy at the end of the season. He said:
After playing a few cup games now in different leagues and in different countries, then I’d say the FA Cup is probably the most special one you can play in because of the history it has and the atmosphere you have in these kinds of games.
“We’re facing a good team and we need to be at our best level to go through to the next round. We want to start this competition well. We’re playing to win every single competition.
“I can’t lie – it would be a fantastic achievement for me if I could win an FA Cup for this club and hopefully we can lift the trophy at the end of the season.”
Man Utd vs Aston Villa: The last meeting
Manchester United and Aston Villa’s last meeting was full of late drama. Playing at Old Trafford, Aston Villa kept United at bay and eventually took the lead in the 88th minute through a solid Kortney Hause header.
Hause then gave away a penalty in stoppage-time and Bruno Fernandes smoked it over the crossbar to give Villa the win.
You have to go back to 2008 for the last FA Cup meeting between the teams. Manchester United won 2-0 that day with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo getting the goals.
Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Raphael Varane keen to help Manchester United end five-year trophy drought
Raphael Varane wants to help Manchester United end their five-year wait for a trophy by adding the FA Cup to his medal-laden CV. Already out of the Premier League title race and Carabao Cup the Red Devils only have two remaining routes to silverware this season.
United take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 and kick-off their FA Cup campaign at home to Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa on Monday night.
Raphael Varane keen to help Manchester United end five-year trophy drought
United are already out of the Premier League title race and Carabao Cup
Man Utd vs Aston Villa: FA Cup history
Manchester United and Aston Villa both have successful history in the FA Cup. United have won the competition 12 times with their most recent success coming in 2016 (2-1 vs Crystal Palace) while Aston Villa have seven titles although the most recent of those came 65 years ago.
In head-to-head meetings in the competition Man Utd have the better record over the years winning 10 of the 12 games played between the sides.
Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Gerrard on tonight’s game
Villa boss Steven Gerrard spoke about how important tonight’s game was for Aston Villa’s plans this season and he’s certainly backed up his words with his team selection.
Gerrard, who lifted the FA Cup twice as a player, said that Villa are coming to Old Trafford to win the game and make it into the fourth round and he has named arguably his strongest side to take on Man Utd this evening. Gerrard said:
We see it as a really important game. This is not a case of focusing on the league and we’re going to be changing the team and the squad very much.
“We’re going to Old Trafford to try and get a positive result for the club and try to qualify for the next round. This is a super important game for us.”
Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Team changes
Ralf Rangnick makes five changes to the Manchester United starting XI that lost to Wolves last time out. There is no Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad so Marcus Rashford joins Edinson Cavani up top. Bruno Fernandes returns to the line-up and Fred slots in alongside Scott McTominay. In defence there is a return for Victor Lindelof who partners Raphael Varane and Diogo Dalot is selected in front of Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back.
Steven Gerrard makes just two changes to the Aston Villa team that lost to Brentford. Tyrone Mings comes back in at cntre-back replacing Kortney Hause and Ollie Watkins returns in place of Bertrand Traore.
Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Line-ups
Man Utd XI: De Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Varane, Shaw, McTominay, Fred, Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford, Cavani
Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Ramsey, Buendia, Ings, Watkins
Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Edinson Cavani tells Ralf Rangnick he wants to stay at Manchester United
Edinson Cavani has told Ralf Rangnick that he wants to stay at Manchester United and help improve the team’s fortunes.
The 34-year-old joined the Old Trafford giants in October 2020 and was strongly tipped to leave after just one season, only to agree to stay for a further campaign.
There was more speculation about his future heading into the January transfer window but Rangnick told Cavani that he had no intention of letting him leave as Barcelona reportedly eyed a move.
Edinson Cavani tells Ralf Rangnick he wants to stay at Manchester United
The 34-year-old has been linked with an exit from the club this month
Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Gerrard on Coutinho
It was a surprising announcement when Aston Villa revealed that Philippe Coutinho was joining the club on loan from Barcelona for the rest of the season.
Manager Steven Gerrard, a former teammate of Coutinho’s at Liverpool, spoke about the signing and how he hopes Coutinho’s experience will benefit the rest of the Aston Villa squad. Gerrard said:
Philippe is currently in the process of finalising his immigration papers and we are looking forward to getting him on the training pitch with the group on Wednesday at Bodymoor. “He is an outstanding footballer who boasts a highly impressive CV laced with plenty of elite honours. I am really pleased that we have been able to bring him on board and I am looking forward to working with him. “He is a player I enjoyed playing with previously and I know the rest of the squad here at Aston Villa will benefit from his quality and experience. His presence will be invaluable given injuries and the AFCON tournament have reduced our attacking options.”
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