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  • 26/05/2025
Manchester United 2 Aston Villa 0 - Matt Maher analysis
Transcript
00:00Good evening from Old Trafford, where this fantastic Villa season has sadly not had a glorious finish.
00:09Una Emery's team missing out on a place in the Champions League with a 2-0 defeat here to Manchester United.
00:16Villa only needed a point, as it turned out, here today.
00:20Newcastle losing at home to Everton, but they didn't get the point.
00:24They were beaten two goals in the last 14 minutes from Ahmad Diallo and Christian Eriksen then from the penalty spot.
00:29But that does not tell the full story of this game.
00:32Let's get one thing straight from the start. Villa were really poor.
00:35This was not a performance which really deserved much.
00:38But that said, they thought they had taken the lead.
00:41They were down to ten men.
00:42Emi Martinez sent off in first-half stoppage time for a fairly brainless barge on Rasmus Hoyland.
00:48And what might be Martinez's final match in a Villa shirt.
00:52But with 18 minutes to go, his opposite number in the United goal, Bay and Deer making a mistake.
00:58Morgan Rodgers thought he had put Villa in front.
01:01But referee Thomas Bramall had already blown his whistle before the ball crossed the line.
01:06He thought that Bay and Deer had been fouled.
01:09As it was, it looked like it was just a goalkeeping error.
01:11Rodgers pounced.
01:12But because the whistle had gone, there was nothing that VAR could do about that decision.
01:17So it stayed 0-0.
01:18And four minutes later, United went in front and they went on to win the game.
01:22Villa are absolutely furious.
01:24Unai Emery speaking to the referee as he came off the pitch.
01:27He very rarely does that.
01:28Afterwards, he was a bit more measured.
01:30He said that everybody makes mistakes.
01:32He makes mistakes.
01:33His players have made mistakes today.
01:35But Villa are going to make a complaint to PGMOL, to the Premier League, regarding the appointment of Bramall.
01:40They feel a more experienced official should have been appointed.
01:44It all smacks of their frustration today.
01:47They came here with such high hopes.
01:48They've won nine out of eleven matches to put themselves into this position.
01:51To give themselves a shot.
01:52But once again, falling short, as they have done, you know, ultimately in the crunch moments this season,
01:58against Paris Saint-Germain, Crystal Palace, and then again today, they just couldn't quite get over the line.
02:03And while the Europa League is, you know, not a bad second prize, it does leave a big hole in the budget for the summer ahead.
02:10So a day of frustration once again at Old Trappard, which remains Villa's theatre of broken dreams.
02:15So a day of frustration once again at Old Trappard, which remains a great place for the summer ahead.

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