Man United roar back to sink Villa in Cup
Peter Hall |
A rousing second-half display from Manchester United has earned the hosts a 4-2 victory over Aston Villa in the EFL Cup third round.
The draw for the fourth round was made immediately after the game, and United will face second-tier Burnley in the last 16, with Manchester City hosting Liverpool in the tie of the round.
Newcastle United play Bournemouth in another all-Premier League encounter, while League two Gillingham face a daunting trip to top flight Wolves.
After an uneventful first half, the game sprang to life just after the break as Ollie Watkins clipped Villa into the lead, before the hosts went straight down the other end to level through Anthony Martial.
The chances kept coming and Villa retook the lead after Diogo Dalot inadvertently diverted the ball into his own net, only for United to quickly equalise again through Marcus Rashford.
The game opened up as it approached the latter stages and Bruno Fernandes, played in by substitute Alejandro Garnacho, put United ahead with a shot, off the back of Villa defender Tyrone Mings, 12 minutes from time.
Scott McTominay added a late fourth for United to put the seal on a exhilarating win over Villa who beat them 3-1 in the Premier League on Sunday.
“First half it was not great in possession so it was similar to the other day,” Rashford told Sky Sports.
“The second half we played with a lot more confidence.
“My aim is to enjoy my football and at the moment I am. If I am scoring goals and winning, then I am happy.”
United fell at the third-round stage last year at home to West Ham United, and having put in a such a below-par showing in the first half at Old Trafford, the writing appeared to be on the wall again after Watkins’s goal.
Martial, starting only his second game of an injury-ravaged campaign, tapped home Fernandes’s perfect pass a moment later – his fifth goal of the season – before Dalot’s unfortunate intervention.
From there on, however, it was all United, with Rashford celebrating his England World Cup call-up by flashing a strike wide before showing great determination to net his eighth goal of the season.
Fernandes completed the comeback and McTominay’s goal on the stretch, moments after he had thundered a strike against the crossbar, was thoroughly deserved as United progressed in style.
United manager Erik ten Hag was pleased with the fightback.
“Two halves are never the same, first half we controlled the game by good pressing and winning balls,” he told Sky Sports.
“Then we were really bad in transition, missing the pass, we kept runs behind but then one step too late passing the ball behind, so we missed a lot of opportunities.
“I’m proud of the team that we could do that after Sunday’s defeat after two times we were down, we were happy tonight.”
League Cup fourth round draw:
Wolves v Gillingham
Southampton v Lincoln City
Blackburn Rovers v Nottingham Forest
Newcastle v Bournemouth
Manchester City v Liverpool
Manchester United v Burnley
MK Dons v Leicester
Charlton v Brighton.
Reuters