Manchester United close gap on top four with late McTominay winner at Villa Park

Manchester United's Scott McTominay celebrates scoring a late winner against Aston Villa.

Rasmus Hojlund continued his remarkable renaissance by scoring in a fifth consecutive game but Scott McTominay continued a season of goalscoring heroics with an 87th minute winner that set alight Manchester United’s hopes of a top-four finish.

The Scotland international rose to head in Diogo Dalot’s late cross, punishing Villa for a string of missed chances and helping Erik ten Hag’s side move to within five points of the hosts.

Hojlund’s opening goal, his fifth in as many games after failing to score in his opening 14 league games, had put United in front, only for Douglas Luiz to equalise, after ten Hag had lost Luke Shaw to injury at the interval.

But McTominay made it seven for the season, and remains ten Hag’s leading league scorer, with every one of his goals having come in United wins.

An evenly-matched first half was separated by Hojlund’s strike although the opening goal owed as much to United defender Harry Maguire.

He repeatedly exploited his mis-match with marker Boubacar Kamara at corners and had threatened even before he rose to connect with Bruno Fernandes’s 17th minute flag kick.

His goal bound header dropped for the alert Hojlund who swung and converted with a clinical six-yard strike that gave Emiliano Martinez no chance in the Villa goal.

But the remainder of the best openings in the first period fell for Villa, only for the hosts to find United’s defence well organised and the reactions of keeper Andre Onana nigh on unbeatable.

Four times in around six minutes midway through the half, Villa carved out strong chances, with Onana making two fine stops, the first when John McGinn launched a terrific shot from the edge of the area which the keeper turned away with a flying stop.

Then McGinn played a superb thorough ball to Ollie Watkins whose split-second hesitation allowed Onana the chance to make a well-timed block at his feet.

That United defence was unsettled at the interval when the injured Shaw had to be replaced by Victor Lindelof, with the visitors almost immediately paying for the enforced change.

An aimless punt upfield by Lindelof, playing out of position at left-back, was collected by Matty Cash and his cross to Watkins ended with a shot directly at Onana who made another good “save,” this time without realising much about it.

It was the start of an entertaining second half, with the ball flowing end to end, although Villa looked the more threatening, especially with Leon Bailey torturing Lindelof down the right.

Bailey almost played in Jacob Ramsey on 59 minutes, with his team-mate just failing to control the ball, and the pair combined moments later, with Ramsey’s shot being cleared off the line by Dalot.

The equaliser was coming and duly arrived on 66 minutes after a ferocious passage of play following a corner, sparked when Onana blocked Clement Lenglet’s effort on his line.

Raphael Varane hooked the ball away, but only as far as Bailey whose driven ball was turned in from six yards by Luiz.

Villa Park was electrified by the goal, although Alejandro Garnacho almost had the perfect response when he rolled his right-footed shot just wide soon after.

And Luiz should have sent the home crowd into ecstasy on 77 minutes, latching onto a poor Dalot clearance with a mis-struck shot that was easily gathered by Onana.

Moussa Diaby also wasted a glorious chance on the break, curling his shot well wide, as United appeared to wave the white flag by bringing on McTominay for Marcus Rashford.

How far that proved to be from the truth.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez 6; Cash 6, Carlos 5, Lenglet 6, Moreno 6 (Digne 87); Kamara 5 (Diaby 65, 7), Luiz 7; Bailey 8 (Tielemans 73, 6), J Ramsey 7, McGinn 7 (Zaniolo 87); Watkins 5. 

Substitutes (not used): Digne, Torres, Zaniolo, Olsen, Rogers, Kesler-Hayden, Iroegbunam.

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Onana 7; Dalot 8, Maguire 9, Varane 6, Shaw 7 (Lindelof 45, 4); Casemiro 5, Mainoo 7 (Amrabat 90); Garnacho 6, Fernandes 6, Rashford 6 (McTominay 73, 5); Hojlund 7 (Evans 90).

Substitutes (not used): Bayindir, Eriksen, Diallo, Antony, Forson.

Referee: R Jones 7.