Manchester United survive Aston Villa onslaught to scrape into FA Cup fourth round

Manchester United scraped their way past Aston Villa to reach the FA Cup fourth round after a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.

Scott McTominay opened the scoring early on when he rose highest to convert a pinpoint Fred cross.

Villa were unlucky not to equalise before the break. They had a flurry of chances to draw level and came closest when Ollie Watkins rattled the bar after a poor Victor Lindelof touch gifted him an opening.

United took back control of the game just before half-time and were prevented from taking the lead by Emi Martinez, who got a touch on an impressive McTominay strike from distance.

The visitors had the ball in the net 10 minutes into the second half when Danny Ings tapped in from close range but it was disallowed after a lengthy VAR check. The ball was lofted in from a John McGinn free-kick and headed back across goal by Ezri Konsa for Ings to meet, but replays showed Jacob Ramsey, in an offside position, had blocked Edison Cavani on the edge of the box.

Minutes later Villa had the ball in the net again. This time Ings was set through one-on-one, his chipped effort beat David De Gea and trickled towards goal before Watkins stabbed the ball across the line as Lindelof closed in, but Ings had made his run too early and was called offside.

Villa's charge ran out of steam in the final minutes as United held on to progress.

Aston Villa were the better side and unlucky not to get an equaliser to take the game to extra time. They had two goals disallowed after VAR checks, which seems harsher than normal considering only Premier League clubs are operating the technology. David De Gea was called into action on numerous occasions, and Villa failed to capitalise on a handful of good chances.

Having said that, it’s a knockout fixture and United got the job done on the night and are into the next round of the cup. It was scrappy, but with a number of key players absent, it’s probably fair to say they won’t lose too much sleep over the performance on the night.

Despite the visitors being the better side, the player that separated the two sides was brilliant in the middle of the park throughout the 90 minutes, hardly putting a foot wrong.

He took his goal superbly with his head and had another impressive effort denied by an acrobatic Martinez save. Villa were pleasing on the eye going forward, and McTominay crucially denied a wave of Villa attacks. It could have been a much different story without the Scotsman deployed in the middle of the park.

Man Utd: De Gea 7, Dalot 6, Lindelof 5, Varane 6, Shaw 6, Fred 6, McTominay 8, Fernandes 6, Rashford 4, Greenwood 5, Cavani 5. Subs: Lingard N/A, Van de Beek 5, Elanga N/A

Aston Villa: Martinez 7, Cash 6, Konsa 7, Mings 6, Targett 6, McGinn 7, Douglas Luiz 7, Ramsey 7, Buendia 7, Ings 7, Watkins 7. Subs: Philogene-Bidace N/A, El Ghazi 6

9’ - GOAL! Man Utd 1-0 Villa (McTominay): There's the opener! Fred puts a dangerous ball into the area, not really looking for anyone but finds McTominay who climbs highest to head United in front!

29’ - OFF THE BAR! How have Villa not equalised? Lindelof is breathing a sigh of relief! The ball is lofted towards the United centre back whose touch is dreadful, allowing Watkins to capitalise, cut back inside and see his close-range effort clatter off the crossbar.

53’ - GOAL? MICHAEL OLIVER IS GOING OVER TO THE MONITOR… McGinn floats in a free-kick which is over everyone, Konsa head it back across goal and Ings is there to tap it in, but it's being looked at by VAR… It's being checked for a block on Cavani by Ramsey... and it's been disallowed! It remains 1-0 to United.

60’ - VILLA HAVE THE BALL IN THE NET AGAIN... BUT THE FLAG GOES UP! Ings is set away and chips the ball over De Gea, it's trickling towards goal and is helped on by Watkins who stabs it in the net, but replays show the assistant referee was right to raise his flag as Ings was offside.