Blanks fired as Ten Hag earns stay of execution

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag (second left) issues instructions to Bruno Fernandes (second right). Pic: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.

Premier League: Aston Villa 0 Man United 0

There were no points awarded for style or entertainment but as Erik ten Hag’s decision to recall 36-year-old defender Jonny Evans helped him record a goalless draw at Villa Park, the Manchester United manager will not care.

All that mattered to the beleaguered coach is that he looks certain to emerge from this week’s international break still in charge at Old Trafford, and that was far from certain before kickoff.

A directionless start to the season, capped by last week’s poor home defeat to Tottenham and surrendering a two-goal lead in Porto on Thursday, saw Ten Hag’s job on the line against the new darlings of the Premier League.

With new part-owner Jim Ratcliffe prominent in the directors’ box, along with Alex Ferguson, his football executives, and right-hand man Dave Brailsford, the group looked like something of an executioners’ row as they shuffled in before the game.

There was certainly a view that a repeat of the performances against Spurs and Porto would lead to his sacking. Now, the Dutchman will survive to fight another day.

And, as Ten Hag has every right to point out, Bruno Fernandes — shown a red card in the last two games — came within millimetres of delivering a much-needed win when he struck the crossbar in the second half.

It was a game that featured some odd defensive selections from the under-pressure United manager, and one that was further tested by injuries. But his decision to drop Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt following the midweek collapse at Porto paid off.

It helped that Villa looked a shadow of the team that recorded a memorable Champions League victory over Bayern Munich in midweek, the toll of the European commitments having taken more out of the hosts than their visitors, apparently.

It all added up to a disappointing contest but, in the current climate, that will have suited Ten Hag to perfection.

The sight of Harry Maguire and Evans starting at the heart of United’s defence might have filled Villa supporters with high hopes but, they struggled to create chances.

Indeed, it is a sign of the dire straits in which Ten Hag found himself — and, presumably, still does — that the solution to his problems was the 36-year-old Evans making his first appearance of his 18th season in Premier League football.

The veteran barely put a foot wrong, against a forward line that has been earning rave reviews across Europe this season. Quite what that says about the status of de Ligt and Martinez will become apparent in the coming weeks. For all Evans’ excellence, the sight of £130m worth of centre-back talent on the bench being eclipsed by a player who turns 37 in three months did not make for great optics.

“Every match I play now I just enjoy it,” said Evans. “It’s still a privilege to play for this club. The pressures that come with it, it’s part of it.

“You see the fans at the end, the support they give the team. They have supported the players massively over the years. It was great for the manager to see that.

“The other night he got a bit emotional, you could see it on him, letting that game slip away. You could see everyone was running into the ground to get a half-decent result.”

It helped Evans that this was a game low on attacking quality — from both sides.

Morgan Rogers, linking well with Ollie Watkins on occasion, fired an early chance wide after Marcus Rashford had pounced on an earlier error by Matty Cash and tested Emiliano Martinez.

The injured Maguire, and Noussair Mazraoui, were taken off at half time by Ten Hag, forcing United into yet more defensive reshapes, and the second half offered a few more noteworthy chances.

Fernandes came closest to breaking the deadlock, hitting a beautifully-struck free kick against the bar from over 20 yards after 68 minutes.

Rashford forced an early second-half save out of Martinez, who tipped over his shot, only for the England striker to be subbed after he picked up a yellow card and was fortunate not to pick up a red soon after.

Youri Tielemans forced Andre Onana into his first meaningful save on 56 minutes, and Watkins sent a vicious blast well over before supersub Jhon Duran was sent on, although not even the prolific substitute could break the deadlock.

The last chance of the game, three minutes into added time, fell to Villa youngster Jade Philogene whose shot was well blocked by Diogo Dalot.

Villa manager Unai Emery said: “We missed some energy, but I am happy because the draw was not the worst result, and in the second half we corrected some things to control the match.

“Of course to play in the Champions League this week, we tried to play with the same energy and tried to impose ourselves, but we are against Manchester United. The expectation I had of the match is what more or less happened.”

ASTON VILLA (4-2-3-1): E Martinez 6; Cash 5, Konsa (Carlos 11, 7), Torres 6, Digne 5 (Maatsen 85); Tielemans 7, Barkley 5; Philogene 6, Rogers 7, Bailey 5 (Duran 62, 5); Watkins 6.

MAN UNITED (4-2-3-1): Onana 6; Mazraoui 6 (Lindelof 46, 6), Evans 9, Maguire 7 (de Ligt 46, 5), Dalot 7; Mainoo 6 (Casemiro 85), Eriksen 5; Garnacho 5, Fernandes 6, Rashford 7 (Antony 64, 5); Hojlund 5 (Zirkzee 64, 5).

Referee: R Jones 6