Gary Lineker has spotlighted Matheus Cunha and another Manchester United star who “did really well” against Aston Villa in the 2-1 defeat at Villa Park on Sunday.
The Red Devils dropped valuable Premier League points at the weekend, despite Manchester United’s strong showing against Aston Villa in their performance.
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Morgan Rogers inflicted the first blow of the competition and netted from a superb strike in the 45th minute before Matheus Cunha hit back for United in injury time.
Patrick Dorgu dispossessed a complacent Matty Cash and Cunha collected the loose ball before curling a fantastic effort around Emiliano Martinez to pull his side level.
United and Villa went into half-time with a 1-1 scoreline on the board before Morgan Rogers made an impact for the second time by scoring the winner after the break.
Gary Lineker’s eye-opening reaction to Matheus Cunha’s role at Man Utd after the 2-1 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa
Aston Villa sealed their win over Manchester United at Villa Park, with the Red Devils unable to mount a second-half comeback after Morgan Rogers completed his brace.
Matheus Cunha missed the opportunity to complete his brace for United after the 26-year-old summer signing headed wide from close range in a clear-cut chance.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Gary Lineker admitted that the Villa result did not take away from the progress that United are making under Ruben Amorim.
The 65-year-old ex-Match of the Day host felt that Cunha’s arrival at United from Wolves back in the summer was a sign of the club moving forward in the right way.
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“Yeah, they really do. I would say I can see improvement in Manchester United this season,” Lineker said.
“I think reasons for optimism; obviously, there’s been a lot of pessimism about Manchester United for a long time, but I genuinely see a team that is progressing.
“It’s slow progress, but I think definitely moving in the right direction. I thought, you know, Cunha is a really good footballer. I mean, he should have scored the header, though.
“These flicky headers, I just… head it back where it came from. But he will know that, you know, having said that, he did finish his goal really, really well.
“Yeah, I think they’re getting the balance better, especially when you consider [there are] quite a lot of injuries and at the back.”
Matheus Cunha earns Gary Lineker’s praise, but Ayden Heaven blew the former England striker away
Ayden Heaven was deployed as the central defender in the three-man backline of Ruben Amorim’s tactical system for United in the 2-1 defeat at Villa Park.
The 19-year-old former Arsenal talent was an assured presence in defence and Lineker waxed lyrical about Ayden Heaven’s performance in the match.
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“I thought young Aidan Heaven did really well, a mature performance,” Lineker continued.
“There’s a lot of pressure on that because you’re the middleman out of the three as well. So, I thought he did exceptionally well.”
The Rest Is Football co-host added: “And they [Man Utd] are a threat going forward.
“But they couldn’t obviously deal with Morgan Rogers, who, I mean, taking that debate a little bit further, I mean, it’s a lovely problem for [England manager] Thomas Tuchel to have.”
United manager Amorim has turned to Red Devils prospect Heaven in recent weeks in the absence of Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt due to injuries.
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