MANCHESTER UNITED’S winless run stretched to five games in a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa on Sunday that did little to ease the pressure on Erik ten Hag.
Bruno Fernandes hit the crossbar with the best effort from either side with a second-half free-kick but United have now failed to score in their last three Premier League games.
A point leaves Ten Hag’s men still down in 14th, having won just two of their opening seven league games of the season.
Fifth-placed Villa missed the chance to move into the top four as they were unable to repeat their heroics of beating Bayern Munich in midweek.
United’s 3-0 humiliation on home soil by Tottenham last weekend had plunged Ten Hag’s job back into peril.
A 3-3 draw against Porto in the Europa League on Thursday did the Dutchman’s case little favours as United blew an early two-goal lead to trail 3-2 before Harry Maguire’s injury-time leveller.
Ten Hag reacted by dropping centre-backs Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt after their chastening night in Portugal with Maguire and veteran Jonny Evans brought back into the starting line-up.
Villa had a far more memorable European night in midweek when Bayern were beaten 1-0 as the Champions League returned to Birmingham for the first time in over 40 years.
Both sides showed signs of fatigue as the match failed to spark into life.
Ten Hag controversially replaced Marcus Rashford at half-time in Porto after he had scored and set up Rasmus Hojlund’s second for United inside the opening 20 minutes.
The United boss said that decision was motivated by managing the minutes of his wingers and Rashford was the visitors’ biggest threat.
The England international cut inside and forced Emi Martinez into the only save of the first half with a powerful strike after five minutes.
Morgan Rogers fired wide at the other end, but United’s reshaped defence held out with little problems until the break.
Ten Hag was forced into another defensive reshuffle at half-time as Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui were forced off injured as De Ligt and Victor Lindelof came on.
Rashford forced Martinez into another good save with a blistering shot from outside the box.
But he was lucky not to be sent off for two bookable offences just minutes apart.
Rashford had been booked when he brought down Leon Bailey and was swiftly substituted by Ten Hag to avoid a United dismissal for the third consecutive game.
Fernandes’ red card against Tottenham had been rescinded to allow him to play and the United captain came as close to anyone to scoring a winner with a free-kick that came back off the bar.
Unai Emery turned to Villa’s super sub Jhon Duran to win the game.
The Colombian has scored five goals off the bench this season but even he could not liven up a sluggish Villa performance.
They did have one big chance to snatch all three points when De Ligt failed to cut out a cross and Jaden Philogene’s shot was deflected wide by Diogo Dalot.
A return of eight points from their opening seven league games in United’s worst since 1989.
Co-owner Jim Ratcliffe was in the stands at Villa Park and with a two-week international break to come, the United hierarchy must decide whether to hand Ten Hag a stay of execution or decide it’s time for change.
Written by AFP and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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