Michael Carrick’s job as Manchester United manager could have been saved yesterday as they fought back from two goals down twice to secure a dramatic 4-4 draw with Aston Villa.
United will go into a two-week international break in the relegation zone after goals in stoppage time from Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu salvaged a point, AFP reports.
Carrick’s side were twice behind inside four minutes as Alysson and Nicolas Jackson took advantage of mistakes by custodian Senne Lammens.
Bruno Fernandes’ penalty and Youri Tielemans’ first goal since joining Old Trafford from Villa saw the Red Devils fight back to equalise at the break.
Carrick was given a reprieve after a stunning battle back from 2-0 down to beat Roma 3-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
A comeback this time was not enough as more awful defending gave Villa two more goals in the first eight minutes of the second half.
John McGinn scored from the penalty spot after Alysson was fouled by Diogo Dalot and Leon Goretzka headed in from close range.
Yet there was a last twist as Zirkzee headed home and Dorgu was there to pounce after Villa custodian Zion Suzuki failed to deal with a corner on the stroke of the 96th minute.
– ‘We want new owners’ –
Carrick was given a stay of execution after a 3-0 home hammering by Bournemouth two weeks ago.
But he will face a nervous wait to see if the United board appoint a replacement before a challenging trip to Liverpool on November 22.
“We haven’t won enough games but I expect to move forward and keep working on things that we’ve been working on,” Carrick told Sky Sports.
Former Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe and former Bayern Munich and Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann are high on the list of potential replacements should Carrick be sacked.
That result meant United dropped into the relegation zone for the first time since August 1986.
The draw leaves them in the bottom three with just eight points from 10 matches.
They were 2-0 down after four minutes for the first time in the history of the Premier League, thanks in no small part to custodian Lammens.
With just one minute on the clock, the Belgian let Alysson’s strike go through his legs.
Less than three minutes later Lammens could only block another poor Alysson effort to hand Nicolas Jackson his sixth goal in his previous six league outings.
Before the game, the United fans had once again vented their anger at the club’s owners.
Protests toward a transfer away from Old Trafford gather steam as a banner reads: “We don’t want a new stadium, we want new owners”.
“you’re not fit to wear the shirt” rang out from the fans in chants directed at the players after the second Villa goal.
But the shock of being down brought a comeback as United regained their feet again at 2-0 down.
The comeback was began by Matheus Cunha winning a penalty, which Fernandes converted, against Roma.
United were gaining momentum before equalising right before the break as Tielemans blasted low beyond Suzuki.
The start of the second half should have been the launch pad for another dramatic fightback but it quickly fell flat.
Dalot stupidly went in to bring down Alysson and McGinn atoned for his penalty miss in last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Fulham.
Moments later Leny Yoro headed a McGinn free-kick off his own crossbar and Goretzka forced the ball across the line in the ensuing goalmouth melee.
There were more protests against United’s controversial American owners, the Glazer family, during the closing stages, when the home side hauled themselves back off the canvas.
Zirkzee’s cool finish had the crowd buzzing and Villa clutching on.
But Unai Emery’s team could not withstand the late siege and Suzuki flapped at Fernandes’s corner and Dorgu gratefully embraced the gift.
“I am disappointed but we move on,” Emery added. “It’s very important to analyse deeply (the game).
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