Manchester United – Aston Villa 2-2: Erik ten Hag’s men grab a two-goal lead as Calum Chambers’ 93rd-minute equalizer rescues a draw for Steven Gerrard’s side in a tight pre-season clash in Perth
- Manchester United drew 2-2 against Aston Villa on Saturday
- United opened the scoring in the 25th minute thanks to Jadon Sancho’s effort
- Manchester United’s lead was extended when Matty Cash scored in his own goal
- Steven Gerrard made a number of changes at half-time as Villa struggled for form
- Leon Bailey got Villa back into the game after the break with his first goal
- Calum Chambers grabbed the equalizer in the 93rd minute to rescue Villa’s draw
By Charlotte Daly for Mailonline
Published: 09:14, 23 July 2022 | Updated: 13:20, July 23, 2022
It was a miserable afternoon in more ways than Manchester United’s. The Red Devils took to a waterlogged pitch to complete their final pre-season match in Australia and ended up walking away with a disappointing 2-2 draw.
Erik ten Hag’s side came into the match in good form having secured wins over Liverpool, Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace and had hoped to complete the set against Aston Villa.
The Red Devils looked set to take their goal in the first half when Jadon Sancho found the back of the net in the first 25 minutes and Matty Cash turned in his own goal to extend their lead.
Sancho’s volley marked his third goal of the tour, after beating Emiliano MartÃnez at the end of a fine team move. While Cash will have been disappointed to have deflected Marcus Rashford’s shot at goal.
Calum Chambers scored a 93rd-minute header to secure a 2-2 draw with Manchester United
United had opened the scoring in the 25th minute of the game thanks to Jadon Sancho (C)
United’s lead extended after Matty Cash scored an own goal for Steven Gerrard’s side
Steven Gerrard’s team seemed unable to get out of first gear, while the Red Devils were going to stop. However, United’s second-half performance allowed Aston Villa to get back into the game.
Gerrard made several changes for the second half: Tim Iroegbunam (for Kamara), Kaine Kesler Hayden (for Cash), Morgan Sanson (for McGinn), Calum Chambers (for Diego Carlos) and Cameron Archer (for Watkins).
Gerrard made a number of changes at half-time as Villa struggled for form in the opening 45 minutes.
Leon Bailey got Aston Villa back into the game after the break with his first goal
They scored just four minutes after the break thanks to a superb effort from Leon Bailey, who continued to cause United’s defense headaches throughout the game.
However, it was some terrible defending from Victor Lindelof that allowed Bailey to get a shot. As a result, the 28-year-old has confirmed that new boy Lisandro Martinez will most likely start ahead of him for the foreseeable future.
Villa continued to press Manchester United as they were relentless in their attack. It was only a matter of time before they scored again. The Red Devils simply held on.
The conditions for the game in Perth were terrible, the players could hardly see the ball
However, Villa’s persistence proved to be too much for United as Calum Chambers grabbed the equalizer in the 93rd minute to level the scores at 2-2. As a result, the Ten Hag team walked away from their final tour match with a general sense of disappointment.
However, Harry Maguire got the Old Trafford faithful back on his side (momentarily). United were booed once against on Tuesday afternoon but were applauded by the fans when
Bailey came close to adding his second goal of the game but Maguire made a crucial interception. The Jamaican goalscorer had rounded David de Gea but Maguire managed to get back to keep the ball out of the net.
Maguire also came close to an early goal when Emiliano Martinez saved his header from a Luke Shaw corner. Perhaps fans will take that into account when he takes to the pitch for United’s final two pre-season games against Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano at the end of the month.
While United will be disappointed with the result in Perth, both managers will be delighted to have left the game without any of their players injured due to the poor surface they had to play on.
Relive the action with Sportsmail’s live blog for the pre-season clash between Manchester United and Aston Villa.