(Football news) Manchester United secured a 4-2 victory over Aston Villa at Old Trafford despite being forced to come from behind twice. The result means that they have progressed to the last 16 of the Carabao Cup where they will host Burnley. Erik ten Hag’s side scored all four goals in the second half, thereby avenging the team’s 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League in their last match. 

Ollie Watkins scored the opening goal in the 49th minute before Anthony Martial levelled the score just 19 seconds after the restart. Villa restored their lead thanks to an own goal by Diogo Dalot but Manchester United levelled the score once again through Marcus Rashford. Bruno Fernandes, who was suspended in the previous match against Villa, scored Manchester United’s third while Scott McTominay ended any hopes of a potential comeback with a goal in the 91st minute. 

Speaking after the match, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said “First half we controlled the game by pressing, we won a lot of balls in the opponent's half but then we did the wrong things. We were really bad in transition, missing the pass. We missed a lot of opportunities in the first half. Then in the last seven or eight minutes we were sloppy on the ball. At half-time we said keep the pressing but be more direct with passing behind their defence. Then we fight back and I'm really proud of the team that they can do that after Sunday's defeat, after two times they're down. 

"They play with a high line. Pass the ball behind. We were quite successful with that in the second half. The problem in the first half was we had too many touches and missed the moment to pass the ball behind. That's why we brought Eriksen onto the pitch. I'm really happy with the resilience. That's why I was so disappointed – I was really mad on Sunday with the performance from us because we didn't fight. We were sloppy, especially in the defensive discipline. A United player always has to show 100 percent discipline. 

"We have to play football at a high intensity. The top teams can do it. We made a step in the right direction. But also find the moments where you can get more composure on the ball to drag an opponent out and find the moments where we can speed up. We are in the right direction but there's still a long way to go. Now you have a little bit more time and we can go a little deeper and see where we can improve. We'll have a good reflection on where we can improve."

Speaking about Garnacho, Ten Hag said “I think it was good that when he came on that he showed a performance, that he had an impact on the game with two assists, some dribbles, some runs in behind. But [there were] also some things he has to improve. For instance, when you are going for a long ball don't go into a header with Scott McTominay, go for the second ball. He has things to learn but it is quite obvious we are really happy with his development and performance tonight and he can contribute to this team.

"If he keeps this attitude, wants to improve every day, and he does the right thing in his lifestyle, yeah, then it is possible because you see he has the capabilities to contribute to attacking football and also he can break open a really compact defending line. He wants to play in the opponents' half. All teams need players like that, he can outplay them and also in the final decisions he can do the right things. Also can he do the defending stuff and the discipline? If he can do that then it is possible."

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said “We competed I think very well and we were having chances to keep for 90 minutes with spirit and with good balance defensively and offensively. And the last 15 minutes was the moment we lost a bit of our mentality that we were showing. It is for us to improve and work on these days before the match against Brighton. I learned a lot because each player gave me a lot of information about their performance. But I was not 100 percent happy with the performance we were doing on Sunday. Both games there were more good things than bad. The worst moments of those two matches were the last 15 minutes." 

Also read: 10 man Nottingham Forest defeat Tottenham in the Carabao Cup