Aston Villa vs Manchester United: Premier League – live | Premier League

51 mins …which Tielemans cuts back for Cash, who misses the ball wide. On the Villa bench, Austin McPhee, the set-piece coach, looks confused; Maybe he just passed a reflective surface, because he looks like he just woke up after 67,043 years.

51 mins Villa move from one end to the other and win their own corner…

49 mins After the corner, Eriksen looks for De Ligt, but he is pushed aside, then Garnacho shoots past the near post.

48 mins Mainno sees a shot being fired downwards, then wins a loose ball, turns and spreads out to Rashford, who runs across the edge of the box, feints the shot and then bounces one in, sending Martinez tipping backwards.

47 mins Also going:

47 mins Elsewhere, Chris Wood gave Forest a 1-0 lead at Chelsea.

46 mins “I liked your call to River Island,” says Adam Roberts. Whenever I see this third jersey horror story, I expect the Ralph Lauren polo horse rather than an oversized cartoon devil.”

46 mins Here we go again. Lindelof is the right-back, which should interest Philogene. Villa should get him on the ball at every opportunity.

It's De Ligt Who gets the call to replace Maguire, not Martinez? He hasn't done anything to justify this, so we can only assume it's the profile Ten Hag wants – more physical strength and a little more speed in the first few meters. Oh yes, and Mazraoui is also probably out injured, so Victor Lindelöf will make his first appearance this season.

However, I agree – at least in part – with the point about the recast. United players appear to have received yellow cards for infractions that would fairly have been punished with a free kick, while Villa were excused for similar infractions.

“Sometimes I feel like I'm watching a different game than everyone else, especially when I look at the MBMs,” says Andy Donald. “I'm not a Utd fan in any way but they seem to be a lot better here than Villa. There also seems to be no mention of the very cynical fouls that Villa are not accused of. I guess my point is that very often commentators ignore what's happening in front of them when a team is on the rise outside of the context of a game. Case in point: The headline of another publication reads “United Holding Company at Aston Villa.” It sounds like they are holding back this almost unstoppable tidal wave of Villa dominance, although it doesn't compare to what I see with my own eyes.”

I think “much better” is a stretch. It was a pretty even half and I think the 'hold on' line is there to show people that United defend well, which they do.

Half-time email: “Is it so surprising that Ugarte hasn’t played that much so far?” asks David Wall. “He arrived late on the last day of the transfer window, just a month ago. In addition, he had not played football since the Copa América, returned to PSG late and then was no longer with PSG at all. He is unlikely to be fit as he did not have any pre-season or season training before his arrival. It’s hardly an ideal situation to send someone to a new team, let alone one that’s really struggling.”

I agree, but given the state of United's midfield and his status as a young athlete at his physical peak, I expected to see more of him.

Halftime entertainment from this day in 1984:

HALF-TIME: Aston Villa 0-0 Manchester United

45+2 mins Evans goes to the back of Bailey and again Digne's delivery is poor and finds Big Bruno Fernandes who heads away. Then when the ball comes back it misses everyone and Maguire limps away with a jigger quad; It looks like his afternoon is over, De Ligt is preparing to replace him – but they will think about it at the break.

45+1 min Hojlund overtakes Diego Carlos, falls behind and grabs the ball. But to his dismay, this swipe goes unpunished.

45 mins We still have three minutes left.

44 mins Hojlund grabs a loose ball after Torres loses it at his feet, but with Fernandes waiting in the middle for a pass, he instead opts for a throw to the side of the box, which, as expected, runs behind.

44 mins Garnacho takes a free kick down the left side, which is again deflected straight into Onana's gloves.

43 mins “Personally, United’s kit reminds me of the fancy number Egypt wore at the 1974 Africa Cup of Nations,” writes Kári Tulinius.

42 mins Mainoo punches a man and then, with nowhere else to go, gets into a challenge with Carlos. He's booked, a little hard.

40 mins It's so good to see Ross Barkley playing well again. In the 2013/14 season he was the closest thing to Gazza we had seen in a long time. His strength in possession and movement through the middle of the pitch made him an unusual talent. But he never fully developed his football brain and seemed to be on the way out, so his renaissance is as surprising as it is welcome.

39 mins Dalot meets Rashford, who fends off Garnacho with a thigh and thus strengthens his back. But the curling shot, while poisonous, is too close to Martinez, who flies away with his fist as he dives.

38 mins Digne punches right into Onana's stomach.

36 mins Watkins isolates Maguire wide out, strolls past from outside and is immediately brought onto the pitch. Maguire is booked and Digne will now take a free kick just outside the penalty area on the right…

35 mins Digne swings a neat ball in from the left but at the back post Bailey opts to play with his foot rather than his head and is unable to make a decent connection.

34 mins “In my humble opinion these are two of the best kits of the season on display here today,” says Matthew Lysaght. “It's a shame that they'll have been forgotten by this time next year. Oh, what yesterday’s two-season jersey usage.”

I'm not sure this ever existed. For as long as I've been watching football, United have had three – in the mid-80s it was red home kits, white away kits and blue third kits for Southampton and Sunderland. However, I agree that Villa's colors are great. The following is one of my absolute favorites.

33 mins Fernandes heads away Digne's corner, then Eriksen gets loose as the ball comes back and Hojlund wins the free kick.

31 mins United, gaining more and more confidence until they lose confidence again, do well and Garnacho regains the ball in the Villa penalty area before being pushed out. But they come back, Diego Carlos heads Rashford's cross clear, then Evans again fends off the counterattack. But that didn't last long as Tielemans' cross was blocked for a corner by Evans – the best player on the field so far.

28 mins In a co-communication, Carragher notes that Rashford is short and states that United are keen to push Villa out. But it may also be that they want him closer to goal than he has been – although Villa, Fernandes' ill-advised Flick, find Barkley in the meantime. He moves through midfield and cuts to Bailey, but when the return comes, his first attack on the ball is hard and once again Evans slips in to win the challenge.

26 mins Villa didn't start particularly well – they lost a lot of physical and emotional energy on Wednesday night, which may explain why. But now comes Rogers, who easily shakes off Eriksen, and so Evans storms in to win a useful challenge. He's limping away holding his left knee, but he should be fine.

25 mins United's equipment looks like it was sold in River Island circa 1997.

23 mins United counterattack and Fernandes wins a free kick, which is fired wide towards Maguire on the other side of the penalty area. His header hits Rogers' arm, but he was too close to the ball to trigger the ridiculous penalty awarded in the 2023 FA Cup final.

22 mins Kobbie Mainoo is a fantastic talent, but he needs to improve – and United need to improve – at getting him on the ball. I'm not sure if he's touched it yet.

20 mins Philogene comes in from the left and, with no one close, waves his right foot towards a wobbly ball that flies a yard or two past the far post.

19 mins “Like other non-Utd football fans, I’m enjoying the current hopelessness and misery of Manchester United,” says Yash Gupta. |But I don't understand why they refused to hire Pochettino? Even at Chelsea, Pochettino showed he could clean up chaos.

From the outside it looks like Man Utd need a coach who can play exciting football, who will maximize the talent available and also nurture the talents of the academy. And United generally gives its managers enough time, something Poch was accused of saying his project usually took time to begin with.

Anyway, Pochettino is now on his way to USMNT. So let’s get Southgate for more fun.”

I guess they didn't hire Pochettino because he had (arguably) proven to be slightly less good than the managers he would have had to catch, and we're now a few years away from his best.

17 mins Excellent from Dalot, who turns away from goal and then slides a neat back pass into the inside left channel for Hojlund, who times his run well. But a strong touch allows Diego Carlos to intervene, and this looks like a classic game between a good team and a team with good players: close until it's not there.

15 mins United win a free kick 40 meters from goal, send the big ones forward… and Eriksen passes straight into the goal with predictable success.

14 mins Maguire wins a decent duel and passes out of bounds, Hojlund passes the ball to Fernandes, who pushes a pass behind for Garnacho. He appears to be offside but the flag stays down even as the ball goes into play – but Villa soon win the ball back.