Manchester United won 2-0 against Aston Villa in their final Premier League match of the 2024/25 campaign on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United have been awful all season long but somehow managed to produce a confident 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on a sun-drenched afternoon at Old Trafford.
Rúben Amorim’s side came out strongly, carving out several promising chances in the first 15 minutes. Despite showing attacking intent that had been lacking for much of the season, they were once again wasteful in front of goal.
United dictated the tempo for most of the first half, and Villa’s task was made even harder just before the break when Emiliano Martínez was shown a red card for a reckless challenge on Rasmus Højlund.
After the restart, the Reds kept up the pressure, but appeared to get a slice of luck when Morgan Rogers thought he had opened the scoring against the run of play, only for the referee to blow his whistle moments before the ball crossed the line — ruling that Rogers had taken the ball from Altay Bayındır’s hands.
Replays later showed that Bayındır did not have full control of the ball, but because the whistle had gone before the goal, VAR was unable to review or overturn the decision.
Just three minutes later, United capitalised. Amad connected with a pinpoint cross from Fernandes to head the hosts in front. The result was sealed late on when Christian Eriksen — making his final appearance at Old Trafford — calmly slotted home a penalty, a goal that not only crowned United’s season but also denied Villa a spot in next year’s Champions League.
Bayındır reminds Amorim of United goalkeeper issue
Bayındır could have had a cigar in his mouth for the first 70 minutes of the game and he would have been fine. United were somehow in total control of proceedings. His involvement was a few passes across the the defence – with 29 touches and 13 passes.
The game was a good example of why Amorim wants to sign a striker – with the Reds struggling to score until the final stages of the game – but also a reminder to the head coach that a goalkeeper also must be signed.
Despite looking comfortable at the back for almost the entire game, United should have went a goal behind after a blunder from Bayındır described by fans as “mental“. He failed to pick the ball up with two hands and Morgan Rogers poked it away from the goalkeeper.
Fortunately for Amorim’s side, the referee made an error and blew his whistle for a foul, meaning that VAR could not intervene with the decision, but it is an important sign which shows that, no matter how comfortable you look in a game, a poor goalkeeper can cost you.
That is the case with United’s first-choice in André Onana and also with Bayındır and that should be a position of priority for the club to strengthen for next season.
United will be defined by how they perform in both boxes
Reports have suggested that United are planning to bolster their attacking line to deal with their goalscoring issues but most rumours indicate that Amorim is not currently pushing for a new no.1.
Those two positions are those most important at the club right now. No matter how good or bad you play – your team is defined by how they perform in both boxes, and right now, United are dreadful in both.
Neither Onana or Bayındır provide confidence for their defence and you almost feel like you’re going into every game with the chance of your goalkeeper making a mistake.
This time around, Bayındır was saved by the referee, but it should remind Amorim that this position is very important and could define his team next season in a good or bad way depending on if they sign anyone there.
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