Ten Hag singles out two best Man Utd players in Aston Villa win

Ten Hag previews Man Utd's Premier League match against Aston Villa

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has spoken out after his side’s narrow 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday. The Red Devils picked up all three points courtesy of a goal from Bruno Fernandes in the 39th minute. And the result means they’re on the verge of returning to the Champions League after their absence from the competition this season.

Manchester United are now on the cusp of returning to the Champions League, with Fernandes scoring the only goal of the game to boost their chances of finishing in the top four.

The midfielder took his goal excellently, with the Portugal international’s deflected strike sailing beyond the reach of Emiliano Martinez.

It was a good display from United, who ended Villa’s fine run of form under Unai Emery.

And Ten Hag, speaking after the game, singled out both Fernandes and Victor Lindelof for praise as his side claimed all three points.

“A good three points but I think an impressive performance from Manchester United,” said the 53-year-old, whose side have picked up 39 points from the last 45 at home.

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“We were magnificant on the ball, had good possesion and pressed well.

“In the second half you want to go 2-0 ahead but we didn’t so it’s always going to be a tough finish.

“[Victor Lindelof] played brilliant. He was totally in control in the area around [Ollie] Watkins.

“Bruno [Fernandes] had another great game. The plan was to play him from the right to make runs behind and he did that so well.

“I think our plan worked very well.”

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He added: ”We look from game to game and next we have Brighton so we need to work hard again.

“We need to show passion again and not worry about the table.

“We are totally in control [in the race for top four], it’s all about us and it’s in our hands.”

Fernandes himself also spoke out.

And the playmaker said: “We always do everything to win the game, not every time it is possible but the team always do everything to win the game.

“It’s always important because this club is about winning games.

“It doesn’t matter the opponent we play against, we knew we were playing against a good team who haven’t lost in 10 games who have good players and good patterns but we also knew that we are capable to do our job and win the game.

“We did what we were trained to do, we could have scored more goals but we are happy with the 1-0 and the three points.

“It’s really important for us to get top four and then we have to think about winning a trophy so we have to find the energy and aim for the top four and the FA Cup.”

Villa star Martinez, meanwhile, felt the result was ‘harsh’ on his side.

“It’s a bit harsh [to lose], we didn’t start the game well, we were sloppy and gave the ball away too many times to them,” stated the World Cup winner.

“Our line was good, our spirit was there in the second half but at the end of the day it’s zero points that we talk back to Birmingham and it’s a little bit frustrating.

“We have got a winning mentality right now, we were unbeaten for 10 games and we tried to come here to take the three points, not even a draw.

“We tried at the end, they defended their goal really well and cleared their line a few times but we can’t start games sloppy like that.”

He added: “I didn’t do a long ball for 40 minute and I decided to go long and Casemiro did an amazing header and then Rashford is all of a sudden one v one. I made a save and then it deflected off Moreno. Disappointed because we lost the game via a deflection.”

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