Manchester United returned to action in the Premier League with a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa.
The spotlight was on Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag as the Red Devils made their trip to Villa Park.
The Dutchman was given two games to save his job, and after a chaotic 3-3 draw against Porto in the Europa League, it all came down to Sunday afternoon’s clash.
It means United have now gone five games without a win – but also only lost one in their last seven across all competitions.
United are now 14th in the Premier League table after picking up a point against Villa.
Here are five things we learned…
Erik ten Hag made a £330m statement
Erik ten Hag certainly raised eyebrows with his team selection against Aston Villa.
The pressure on his job added huge pressure on United’s trip to Villa Park and Ten Hag made some bold decisions with his lineup.
Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez were both dropped to the bench after the 3-3 draw with Porto on Thursday evening.
Summer signing Manuel Ugarte was also named on the bench which meant seven of United’s nine substitutes were Ten Hag’s own signings.
The cost of those seven players? Just over £330million.
Jonny Evans still has a big part to play
The inclusion of Jonny Evans was probably the most surprising part of Ten Hag’s lineup.
With De Ligt and Martinez dropped, Ten Hag opted to start the two centre-backs who came off the bench against Porto midweek.
It was a decision that was met with plenty of criticism, but Evans justified his selection with a brilliant performance at the back.
With plenty of games still to go this season, Evans will still have a big part to play.
Bruno Fernandes continues to struggle
A poor performance at Villa Park caps off what has been Bruno Fernandes‘ worst week since joining Manchester United.
Back-to-back red cards against Tottenham and Porto paint the picture of how things have been going for the Portuguese playmaker.
The Premier League overturned Fernandes’ red card making him available for Sunday’s trip to Villa, but he looked extremely short of confidence and was not the creative outlet United fans have grown to love.
Goals are a problem
A recurring theme this season. United have struggled to score.
Five goals in seven Premier League games is nowhere near good enough and United continue to look blunt going forward.
A big problem this season has been the number of chances being missed, but it is even more worrying when the team is not creating chances at all.
Starting games slowly is also a worrying trend, with United now failing to score in the first half of six of their seven league games.
All eyes on Sir Jim Ratcliffe
British billionaire and United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe made the trip to Villa Park to watch United in action.
It piled even more pressure on Ten Hag and all eyes will now be on Ratcliffe and the United hierarchy over the international break as they make a decision on the Dutchman’s future.
Ten Hag was given two games – Porto and Aston Villa – to try and turn things around. Two games and two draws later, his future still hangs in the balance.
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