Former Aston Villa man, Andy Gray has given his verdict on Aston Villa’s defeat to Manchester United, specifically one moment.
Boxing Day, in a footballing sense, wasn’t a night to be remembered for Aston Villa fans following the defeat to Manchester United.
Despite a great early first-half performance from Unai Emery’s side, they capitulated in the second half and were outplayed.
Goals from John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker were cancelled out by Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund. Given the form that the Villans have been in this season, this certainly raised a few eyebrows.
It must be said that it was all their own doing as Villa let the home side on to them for the majority of the game. Their first came from a misplaced Diego Carlos pass, the second via a deflection and the third bounced off McGinn. All very preventable goals, not dealt with.
With this being the case, former Villa man, Andy Gray has passed his opinion on the loss and the season ambitions.
What has Andy Gray said?
Speaking on Bein Sports, transcripted by the Daily Mail, Gray didn’t appear happy about one moment in particular.
This was the Red Devils’ second goal. Garnacho’s strike took a big deflection to leave Emi Martinez with no chance. The writing was on the wall from that moment onward.
Not only did the ball come off Carlos, it bypassed Dendoncker who looked to have every chance of making a block. This is what annoyed Gray and got on his nerves.
On that, he said: “I would fine him. I would fine him. Anyone who goes and turns their back on a ball.”
It is true that should the Belgian have stayed square on to the ball, he would have blocked it and the result may have been different.
Although it has still been a great season for the Villans, the last two games have hampered any title chances. They have also shortened their grip on an all-important Champions League spot.
This wasn’t lost on Gray, who said: “I think the next two or three weeks are going to be key for Villa. And I mean that because having two poor performances – Sheffield United and tonight – they can’t have another.
“Good teams have a couple of iffy results but you immediately see a response from them.”
With the home clash against Burnley coming up quickly, there is no time to dwell on past results. Emery and his side have to look forward and begin to perform as they had earlier in the season.
