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The Rebirth Of Ashley Young – 3 Talking Points From Manchester United’s Draw At Villa Park

Aston Villa vs Manchester United Talking Points

Radamel Falcao’s second half goal wasn’t enough to claim all three points as Manchester United drew 1-1 against 10-man Aston Villa on Saturday. The home side took the lead in the first half, thanks to a wonderful left-footed strike from Christian Benteke. The Red Devils dominated the ball but looked shaky at the back and it wasn’t until Ashley Young, who was a constant menace down Aston Villa’s right flank provided  a wonderful cross for Falcao to head home his first goal away from Old Trafford early in the second half. Gabriel Agbonlahor was harshly sent off just after the hour mark, but the home side held on and ended a run of six-straight losses against the Red Devils in the League.

Louis Van Gaal
Louis Van Gaal

Here are the major talking points from the game

1. United need to make better use of the ball

Ever since the rise of Barcelona and tiki-taka, everyone seems to take a keen interest in possession stats. If the game was decided solely on the basis of possession, United would have cruised through the game as they enjoyed almost two-thirds of the ball. Unfortunately the only thing that matters at the end of the day is putting that ball in the back of the net. United, for all of their possession were unable to create too many clear cut chances and that cost them the opportunity to win seven games on the bounce.

One of the things that Louis Van Gaal has tried to do with this United side has been to play from the back. At times this season, that has got them into trouble and in this game as well, there were a couple of occasions where the defenders carelessly gave the ball away and that almost cost them a goal. But for most of the game, although the defenders had the ball, they always went sideways and on the occasions they chose to go forward, the ball was either too long or too slow. United might sit fourth in the possession stats this season, but Van Gaal knows that simply possession alone will count for nothing and will want his side to make more use of the ball against Newcastle United in their next game.

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