Scott McTominay’s early header ultimately proved just enough to see 12-time winners Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United into the Emirates FA Cup fourth round proper as they edged past Aston Villa 1-0.
The all-Premier League clash was the final match of a scintillating Emirates FA Cup third round proper weekend and a home tie against Middlesbrough is the reward for the Manchester United.
Anyone who watched the contest at Old Trafford will still be bemused as to how there was only one goal in the 90 minutes – as the visitors had two efforts ruled out and both sides spurned numerous chances – but the record books will show that McTominay’s eighth-minute effort was decisive.
The defensive midfielder had already hit a long-range shot straight at Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez when Fred whipped in a delightful in-swinging cross with his left foot that the Scot glanced past Martinez into the net.
🔴 He's @ManUtd's main man at the moment 🤩@mctominay10 like a prime number 9️⃣ in the box 😅#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/atWV9WCISe
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 10, 2022
Manchester United could have sealed victory on 73 minutes when Greenwood raced clear and Martinez was forced to claw away his curled effort but they ultimately held on for victory anyway to set up that fourth-round clash with Middlesbrough.
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Manchester United coach Ralf Rangnick said. “We knew it would be very difficult against Villa. In the first half, I thought we did well. It could have been 3-2 or 4-3 to us at half-time.
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In the second half, we were on the counter-attack and we could have made more of those situations. We took the wrong decisions at times but when we changed to a diamond in midfield, we had more control.
In the last 20 minutes, we had more control. We fought well as a team together when it was important. In the end, it was a good win. That was our goal, to proceed to the next round.”
After the match Aston Villa coach Steven Gerrard said ,”I’ve seen enough tonight to be positive about, even though I’m frustrated to go out of the competition.”
"I've seen enough tonight to be positive about, even though I'm frustrated to go out of the competition."
The thoughts of Steven Gerrard following our #EmiratesFACup exit, plus a look ahead to the arrival of Philippe Coutinho at Bodymoor Heath. 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/iHApvqYgmw
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 10, 2022
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