It's a shame that someone ended up winning this absolute disaster of a game. Manchester United beat Aston Villa 1-0 in a game where absolute nothing happened save for a series of injuries and a neat goal by Phil Jones. Javier Hernandez, Shay Given, Jermaine Jenas and Chris Herd were all forced off the pitch, with the first three's problems looking fairly serious.
Aston Villa Vs. Manchester United, 2011 Premier League: Both Teams Poor, But United Win
It’d be tempting to say that the game was diminished by all the injuries, but it probably wasn’t - it’s difficult to see any of the above having much of an impact on the match had they not gone off, because nobody else really bothered playing. One United had gone 1-0 up in the 20th minute, when Jones volleyed Nani’s sidefooted cross past a helpless Given, they stopped looking like an attacking force, playing stodgy, boring football for most of the rest of the game. Villa, for their part, were rubbish throughout, and a late surge forward as Alex McLeish’s side tried to at least pretend they knew how to attack wasn’t enough to put any sort of shine on an abject performance.
Still, a 1-0 win is a good enough result for Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, who now reclaim second place from North London upstarts Tottenham Hotspur. Villa, meanwhile, drop to ninth. Does anyone have any idea how they're in the top half?
See More:
