Unai Emery’s Aston Villa kept their title dream alive with a hard-fought 2–1 win over Manchester United at Villa Park. A brace from former Manchester City academy product Morgan Rogers proved the difference, as Villa maintained a healthy gap over fourth-placed Chelsea.
The game got off to a lively start, with both sides trading chances in an open first half. John McGinn went close inside the opening ten minutes, but his effort was denied by Senne Lammens. Villa continued to push, with Rogers firing narrowly wide soon after.
United responded with a good opening of their own as Bruno Fernandes slipped a ball beyond Ezri Konsa to send Benjamin Šeško through on goal, though his shot was straight at Emiliano Martínez. The tempo stayed high for the rest of the half, with chances at both ends but no breakthrough, until just before the break. McGinn switched play out to Rogers on the left, who cut inside past Leny Yoro and curled a superb strike into the far corner, leaving Lammens with no chance.
The lead didn’t last long. United hit back almost immediately as Patrick Dorgu won the ball off Matty Cash and found Matheus Cunha in the box. The Brazilian kept his cool and placed his shot into the bottom corner to level things up at half time.
United made a change at the break, with Fernandes coming off for Lisandro Martínez after picking up a knock. Villa had edged the first half in terms of chances, posting an xG of 0.77 compared to United’s 0.69.
The visitors started the second half brightly, with Mason Mount picking out Šeško in the area, though the striker couldn’t quite get on the end of it. Martínez then tried his luck from distance ten minutes later, sending an effort just wide from 25 yards. Villa soon regained control, and Rogers struck again. Youri Tielemans delivered from the left, Rogers collected the ball inside the box and produced almost an identical finish to his first, bending another shot beyond Lammens to restore Villa’s lead.
Emery’s side continued to press for a third, creating several more openings, but Lammens stood firm and finished the match with a solid performance. The Red Devils threw everything forward in search of an equaliser, registering ten shots in the second half alone, but couldn’t find a way through.
In the end, Villa held on to claim all three points at home. The result leaves them third in the table, just three points behind leaders Arsenal and one behind Manchester City. United, meanwhile, sit just outside the Europa League places, one point behind newly promoted Sunderland and three adrift of rivals Liverpool.
