Manchester United holds off Aston Villa and leaves Ten Hag's future up in the air | first division

It is unknown what this draw means for Erik ten Hag, but it may save him the indignity of what would have happened if manchester united fell to defeat at Aston Villa. Maybe. United top brass Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sir Dave Brailsford, Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox had the best seats in the house and will surely review Ten Hag's position during the international break. Bruno Fernandes hit the crossbar with a good free kick and United's performance was not embarrassing. And yet, their last victory was against Barnsley and they are now five games without a win.

From training at Boavista the morning after Harry Maguire's injury time intervention against Porto on a gray Sunday afternoon in Birmingham. Kobbie Mainoo was among the participants in Friday's session designed exclusively for players, apart from Alejandro Garnacho who did not start the draw and Mainoo returned to the starting lineup here as one of four changes. Ten Hag's boldest decisions, however, came in defense with Jonny Evans, 37 in January, and Maguire, 31, parachuting into the heart of United's defense in place of Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez. Ten Hag's team selection led Gary Neville to joke that he and his brother, Phil, could play at full-back. At least it seemed like he was joking. Maguire only made it until half-time after suffering an apparent muscle injury in stoppage time that left him with a giant hole in his sock and required two members of United's medical staff to help him off the pitch.

Victor Lindelöf came in for Noussair Mazraoui and Martínez for Maguire. At first glance, United's team signing seemed like a strange act of self-sabotage on Ten Hag's part. Villa is dynamic in attack and breaks with speed and taste. Morgan Rogers is dangerous on the turn and when Christian Eriksen was booked after cutting Rogers inside two and a half minutes, it set an ominous tone. A few minutes later, Rogers maneuvered into a gap behind Mainoo and Eriksen and fired a shot that hit the boards and rattled the back of André Onana's goal. Some of the Villa fans at the opposite end thought he was already in.

Evans, an emergency signing last year, was never supposed to be here, heading crosses into the middle of this United machine, but, admittedly, he was arguably United's best player. “Jonny Evans is red,” crooned the away support as he made a timely tackle on Rogers before stopping Ross Barkley moments later. It was Evans who sniffed danger when Rogers, again taking advantage of the space behind United's defense and midfield, released Ollie Watkins. Later, Onana made a good save from Youri Tielemans, unmarked on the edge of the D, after United had disconnected from a corner.

Marcus Rashford made the first effort of the game, snatching the ball from Matty Cash on halfway before driving down the left. Rashford came in on Barkley and fired towards goal, prompting a clever save from Emiliano Martínez. Villa's goalkeeper made a similar save just minutes after the break, after Mainoo had brought in Rashford on the left wing. Midway through the second half, Martínez was beaten by Fernandes, available after his red card against Tottenham was overturned, but Fernandes' free kick hit the crossbar. Antony, who until coming off the bench had played only one minute in the league, sent the first shot wide after the rebound.

Ten Hag leaned back in his chair. Unai Emery did the same when Diogo Dalot denied Jaden Philogene, Ian Maatsen's cross dribbled towards him at the far post. As the game progressed into injury time, there was a delay as referee Rob Jones' headset technology apparently failed. It remains to be seen how much battery life Ten Hag has left at United.