Comeback win offers hope for Man United’s new era

MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United's new era began with reminders of the big problems at Old Trafford, but ended with hopes that the future was ultimately bright.

In their first match since the announcement that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos had agreed a deal to buy a 25% stake in the club and take control of all football matters, United lost 2-0 to Aston Villa before completing a stunning comeback to win. 3-2 thanks to two youngsters: Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Højlund.

Garnacho, 19, scored twice and Hojlund, 20, scored his first Premier League goal since his summer move from Atalanta to give Erik ten Hag's side their first win in five games. It was a timely boost for the Dutch coach with Ratcliffe's sporting guru Sir Dave Brailsford sitting in the stands for the first time. Brailsford, director of sport at Ineos, will be part of the team tasked with transforming United's fortunes, and Ten Hag has at least proven there is still life in his managerial reign.

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The first question asked in his post-match press conference was what he thought Brailsford would have thought of his evening at Old Trafford. “I don’t know,” he said. “You'll have to ask them. I don't think it had any impact on the players. For me, I was kept informed throughout the process, so I knew what was going on.

“We are looking to the future. I think it is positive for the club that they are stepping in. They have a lot of experience in sport at the highest level, in F1, in a cycling team, in football clubs .

“They can only help and support us to achieve our goals. We look to the future. They want to work with us and we want to work with them.”

Trailing 2-0 at halftime, Brailsford probably thought he would need something more substantial than his “marginal gains” philosophy to revitalize the club his boss has spent nearly $1.3 billion on . Brailsford's success in British cycling, where he made his name, was about making the most of small victories, but after 26 minutes here he felt like he would have to order major surgery once Ratcliffe Agreement ratified. Twice in the space of five minutes, United conceded from a free kick from the left.

First, John McGinn swung a free kick that evaded everyone and ended up in the far corner. McGinn was involved again moments later when his corner was put back into the box by Clement Lenglet, and Leander Dendoncker fired home Villa's second. It prompted boos around Old Trafford, and some United fans, who have seen their team concede the opening goal in seven of their 10 home league matches this season, stood up to leave.

Of the many items on Brailsford's list of priorities, perhaps he must first address the mental toughness of United's players. Again and again, they concede several goals in short periods.

Against Villa it was two goals in five minutes. It was two in six minutes against West Ham on Saturday and two in five minutes against Bournemouth earlier this month. Already this season there have been 10 occasions where United have conceded multiple goals in 10 minutes or less. If Ten Hag wants to save this campaign, this is a problem he will have to solve.

“I said at halftime, ‘Keep believing and we will win,’” Ten Hag said. “Already in the first half we played solidly. It was a bit sloppy to give away two goals from set pieces.”

It long looked like United would lose a home game on Boxing Day for the first time since 1978, but eventually they started throwing their own punches. While Villa manager Unai Emery was determined to persist with his high defensive line, Garnacho, Højlund and Marcus Rashford began to look like players Ineos might want to build a future around.

Garnacho scored the first two goals and, as the atmosphere at Old Trafford reached boiling point, Hojlund scored for the first time in 1,026 Premier League minutes to seal the victory. “He will score more,” Ten Hag said.

“When strikers don't score it's always a problem but he has a strong character, he has a great personality and that's what a striker needs, and when you keep investing the goals will come.”

Hojlund shouted in the Stretford End like a man who felt the weight of the world lifting off his shoulders, and although he didn't want to admit it, his manager looked just as relieved after the final whistle. As Ratcliffe, Brailsford and Ineos prepare to usher in what they hope will be a new era of success at a club that has struggled for a decade, Ten Hag are finally off to a good start.