Erik ten Hag hails Manchester United’s character after Aston Villa win

LONDON – Manchester United displayed great character and mentality to score a late winner in their 2-1 English Premier League victory over Aston Villa despite being fatigued towards the end, manager Erik ten Hag said.

Rasmus Hojlund's 17th-minute opener was cancelled out by Douglas Luiz's second-half strike, before Scott McTominay scored in the 86th minute to move sixth-placed United up to 41 points after their third straight win on Feb 11.

Hojlund’s winner against Villa on Boxing Day has kick-started a run of six goals in seven games for the Denmark striker.

After failing to score in his first 14 games, the 21-year-old has become the second-youngest player to net in five successive appearances in the Premier League, behind Nicolas Anelka for Arsenal in 1998.

Hojlund now has 11 goals in 29 matches in all competitions in his debut season after signing from Atalanta.

“I liked especially the first 20 minutes. When we are dictating the game, after I think we are dropping a little bit too much,” ten Hag said.

“We had our moments in the counter-attacks, but yeah, I think then at 1-1, to fight back, we are really happy for today... I think it was really high intensity and you could see how many players were so, so fatigued by the end.

“It was so open and it could go two ways. But... we found the mentality, the character to win this game. And also the subs, they have had an impact.”

Former United stalwarts Roy Keane and Gary Neville were less impressed.

Neville said on Sky Sports: “They’re better than they were but they’re still not great. They concede so many chances, they don’t really have any patterns, they don’t control games or keep possession better than the other teams.”

Keane added: “United still gave up loads of chances, the problems are still there for them. They got away with it today... They’ve got away with it for three or four weeks. Their attacking players are getting them out of jail.”

United were dealt an injury scare with defender Luke Shaw, who has missed a large portion of the season due to injury, substituted at half-time.

Ten Hag said the England left-back’s substitution was precautionary, adding: “He mentioned some complaints and we can’t take a risk with, especially Luke Shaw, because he has had so many injuries in the past.

“We took him off so that it did not become an injury. We have to see how it develops in the coming days.”

Villa, meanwhile, have lost three straight games at home in all competitions.

Said manager Unai Emery: “We were playing well against the mighty Manchester United, but we couldn’t score some clear chances.

“The result is tough for us and difficult to accept but that’s football. We played like we planned and deserved more.” REUTERS, AFP