Did Man United turn a corner under Ten Hag at Villa Park?

BIRMINGHAM, England – Erik ten Hag may have just turned a milestone at Manchester United after making it five wins from six with a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday, but it doesn't matter how many of his big players are now at his disposal . , the guy he didn't want continues to be the one who delivers when the team needs him most.

No player in Europe's major leagues has scored more game-winning goals in the final 30 minutes than Scott McTominay this season. The Scottish midfielder, who Ten Hag was happy to transfer to West Ham United last summer, featured again at Villa Park after being introduced as a second-half substitute.

The 27-year-old's 86th-minute header from a Diogo Dalot cross sealed United's victory, and it could prove to be one of the biggest and most important goals scored by either player from Ten Hag this season. It was the third time McTominay had saved United in the final half hour of a match and none of his teammates came close to his goalscoring ratio per 172 minutes. Rasmus Højlund, scorer of United's first goal, is second, more than 100 minutes behind with 275 minutes per goal.

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“Scott [McTominay] It's great,” Ten Hag said after the match. “He can score a lot of goals. He always positions himself to score goals. We had problems, it was too much like a tennis match, we had problems on the counter-attack, but we knew Scott would get in the box and could score goals.”

By turning a draw into a victory, McTominay gave United hope of moving into the top four before the end of the season and securing qualification for the Champions League. United are six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and five points behind Villa after taking all three points – without Sunday's victory, that gap would surely have been too big to close.

It could yet prove an impossible challenge for United to crack the top four. The chaotic and unimpressive nature of their season so far is summed up by the fact that they are finally — after 24 games — out of negative goal difference equity, which stands at zero after this victory. To put this into context, leaders Liverpool have a goal difference of plus 32.

Incredibly, after nine defeats already in the league, United still have a chance of finishing in the top four. During the darkest days which saw the team lose to Nottingham Forest, West Ham and AFC Bournemouth, as well as crash out of the Champions League by finishing last in their group, Ten Hag repeatedly stated that things would be different once his injured players returned. action.

Casemiro, Lisandro Martínez and Luke Shaw topped his list. All three returned last month and United have won five and drawn one since the start of January.

Martínez has since suffered another injury – the former Ajax defender is out for eight weeks with a knee ligament injury – and Luke Shaw was replaced at half-time after being injured against Villa, a decision described as “precautionary” by Ten Hag. United however managed to weather the storm at Villa without both players, so perhaps the improved results and morale are giving United the strength to win games they would have lost earlier this season.

However, other things also worked for Ten Hag. Højlund has finally returned to his scoring form after breaking his Premier League duck in the home win over Villa on December 26 – his goal at Villa Park was his fifth consecutive league game with a goal – and Kobbie Mainoo, the Midfielder 18-year-old midfielder, has become a fixture in the team since his first appearance against Everton at the end of November.

So Ten Hag are starting to benefit from some consistency in terms of team selection and results are improving accordingly, but make no mistake, United had their chance at Villa and they remain a work in progress.

Marcus Rashford, replaced in the 73rd minute, continues to struggle to find form, his near-goal decision-making letting him down too often. Casemiro found pace difficult against Villa's energetic midfield and Dalot was continually exposed by Alejandro Garnacho's lack of defensive discipline on the right flank.

Against top teams, United risk being overwhelmed in midfield and their wastefulness in front of goal could prove costly, but being out of European competition could help save energy by reducing the workload of players prone to injury. wounds of Ten Hag.

With 14 games remaining, United's task is clear, and they have at least given themselves a chance of achieving what would be a remarkable turnaround.

“It’s a huge win for us,” Ten Hag said. “We came close and that was our goal today. It was absolutely our goal and we achieved it.”