Aston Villa and Manchester United shared the spoils in a closely contested affair at Villa Park, with the Red Devils having lost just once in their last 26 visits to the Premier League ground.
United came closest to breaking the deadlock early on, with Marcus Rashford testing Emiliano Martínez with a venomous strike, but the visitors also suffered an early setback with Ezri Konsa forced off injured. Diego Carlos filled in admirably to help contain Rasmus Højlund’s attacking threat.
Chances were at a premium in a slow opening half – Jaden Philogene fired just wide for Villa, Alejandro Garnacho forced a save from Martínez at a tight angle. But the better openings fell the way of Villa, though Leon Bailey really should have done better with a glorious chance from Lucas Digne’s cross.
In the second half, Martínez tipped Rashford’s effort onto the crossbar, and Bruno Fernandes did likewise, hitting the woodwork with a free-kick. Neither could break the impasse in the closing stages, though, as the match ended all square-Diogo Dalot’s vital block to deny Philogene perhaps the most telling late intervention for either side.
Villa made it eight games unbeaten in all competitions, while Manchester United extended their winless streak to five matches across all competitions.
