Manchester United beat Aston Villa 3-2, which was Hojlund’s first goal in the Premier League since his return.
When Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company, INEOS, said it would buy a 25% stake in Manchester United as a substitute for sports control, a new era began at Old Trafford.
INEOS’s sports director, Sir Dave Brailsford, watched today as Erik ten Hag’s team came back from being down two goals to prevail over Aston Villa 3-2. Rasmus Hojlund scored the game-winning goal, which was his first in the Premier League.
Even though Unai Emery’s team lost after scoring the first goal of a game for the first time this season, they are still third in the table after 20 games.
Unai Emery’s strong team seemed to be in charge after goals in John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker in the first half.
Erik ten Hag’s team was booed off at halftime. But Alejandro Garnacho scored two goals that changed the tone beforehand Hojlund won it.
The £72 million summer signing didn’t score his first goal until his 15th Premier League game.
It was the first event since Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a 25% stake in United, which means that his INEOS company runs football operations.
What a beginning! At the end of the game, the historic win was wildly praised. With the three points, Manchester United moves up to sixth spot in the Premier League table. Aston Villa stays in third place, losing the chance to tie Liverpool for first place on points.
Rasmus Hojlund earned his debut in the Premier League as Manchester United came back from being down two goals to beat Aston Villa in an exciting game at Old Trafford on Christmas Day.
Erik ten Hag’s team scored one of those famous “back-from-the-dead” goals in United’s first game after Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a 25% stake in the club.
Future director as well as current Ineos director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford was in the directors’ box.
After Villa took an earned lead at halftime thanks to goals from John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker, United came back strong and didn’t give up, even when VAR called Alejandro Garnacho offside, which kept United’s spirits up.
The Argentine, who is 19 years old, led the comeback. He scored twice in a game for the first time in his career, which turned the game around.
Villa did everything they could to stop the home attacks. But, as Midlands foe Nottingham Forest found out in August, United still have some of the stubbornness they had when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge.
And for the home fans, Hojlund was the best player to score. He was the fastest to react and rammed the loose ball home following Bruno Fernandes’ corner hit McGinn or bounced free in a crowded penalty area.
It was clear how happy Hojlund and his teammates were. Goalkeeper Andre Onana ran the length of the field to join the celebrations, and Ten Hag bounced with joy, his fists clenched in excitement.
And it was his idea of “marginal gains” that made him famous. It helped him do so well in cycling. In sports, too, little things can make a big difference. The score was tied at 2-2, and Old Trafford was going crazy. Villa then went on the attack.
The home team was able to get the most out of Garnacho’s double, which led to a win that puts them only one point behind Manchester City, even though City has two games in hand.
It has been hard for this team to score goals, but Garnacho found his shot boots at just the right time.
Many defenders have had trouble with the kid’s speed and movement this season. He got a result tonight.
Just in the midst of Brailsford was Edwin van der Sar, a former United goalkeeper who is thankfully doing better after having a brain bleed not long ago.
Van der Sar knows Ten Hag or André Onana well from when he was the CEO of Ajax. He has a lot of faith in Onana’s skills.
McGinn’s free kick was allowed to bounce through the six-yard area before finding the far corner, with Onana rooted to the spot and none of his players moving to clear. One can only imagine what he must have thought of Villa’s opening goal.
Five minutes later, Villa scored their second goal when Clement Lenglet ran open to the far post as well as headed McGinn’s corner back toward the danger area, where Dendoncker scored with a flick.