In the 38th round of the Premier League, Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 2-0 at Old Trafford to finish the season in 15th place. The Red Devils scored their first league goal in 346 minutes, ending an eight-game winless run. Villa finished sixth and missed out on Champions League qualification, with Unai Emery lashing out at VAR and the referee after the game, but they had only themselves to blame.
Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, wing-back Luke Shaw and winger Garnacho were not included in the squad and all three are rumoured to be purged in the summer window. The rest of the Reds are largely similar to the Europa League final, and while the team has run out of desires, they have been surprisingly active at home. This may have something to do with Villa's own nervous stage fright, as they look to break into the top five and reach the Champions League again. Or perhaps this is Unai Emery's strategy, emulating Tottenham in the Europa League final.
Manchester United, who continued to attack in the opening game, failed to score as always, and there were injuries to the main players, and in the 19th minute, Mazraoui was forced off the pitch with a strain when he broke the ball, and Diogu Darlow came on. He came close to opening the scoring when Harry Maguire set up a fulcrum to kick back, but Darlow followed up with a powerful shot that hit the far post.
In first-half stoppage time, Villa made a series of mistakes in midfield and back, Cash's return pass was intercepted by Hojlund, who went to the game alone, and goalkeeper Amy Martinez came out to bring down Manchester United's no.9 and was sent off with a red card. Big Martin may be hot-headed and forget that even if he were given a one-on-one shot from the £72million Danish centre-forward, he might not be able to score. The Argentine international was red, Villa had one man less, and could only replace Asensio to bring on substitute goalkeeper Olsen.
Substitute Darlow also appeared to be injured and dropped off at half-time with Kobe Mayno on the line. United dominated the second half when Hojlund headed in Harry Maguire in the 50th minute, but he was clearly offside and the goal was disallowed.
In the 75th minute, there was a very controversial scene on the field. This time it was United's turn to make a mistake at the back, with Morgan Brenders stabbing the ball before Badil could catch it, the United goalkeeper got out of his hands and Villa fired home from the middle of the field. However, referee Thomas Brammor ruled that Baindier had touched the ball before the opponent kicked the ball, controlled the ball, blew the whistle early, and ruled that Rodgers had fouled and the goal was disallowed.
The Premier League's official statement explained: "The referee awarded Manchester United a free-kick and he thought Bagdier had the ball in control before Rodgers. Due to the referee's early whistle, the incident could not be rewatched by the VAR video assistant referee."
Opinions were divided as to whether Bayndil was in control of the ball, but the referee's early whistle meant the ball would not have worked anyway. This has sparked conspiracy theories that the FA doesn't want Villa to play in the Champions League. Unai Emery left a message after the game: "The referee knows it."
A minute after Villa's goal was blown away, Manchester United scored a goal. Bruno Fernandes sent in a ball over the top and Amad Diallo headed home to give United a 1-0 lead over Villa. Dream Theater fans still chanted "Take Me Home" and "We Will Never Die" to show their support for the team.
In the final moments of the game, Villa made a needless foul on Ahmad in the box and gave United a penalty. Fernandes conceded the penalty to 33-year-old veteran Christian Eriksen, who was about to expire on his contract, and the latter converted the final goal at Old Trafford. But interestingly, B Fei is also likely to move away from the team in the summer window.
Manchester United beat Villa 2-0, who missed a chance to break into the top five and continued their weakness at Old Trafford. The stats show that Villa have won only three times at Manchester United's home ground in 42 years. Because Newcastle United lost in this round, Villa can qualify for the Champions League with even one point against Manchester United. However, after the defeat to Manchester United, Unai Emery's team can only finish sixth because of the goal difference less than the "Magpies", and will play in the Europa League next season.
Manchester United used the win to break the 40-point mark and surpass Wolves on goal difference, moving up one place in the Premier League and earning an extra £2.3 million in prize money. After the game, Amorim led the whole team around the stadium to thank the fans and took up the microphone to apologize.
"First of all, I have to apologise for this season, I know you are deeply disappointed with me and the team's performance." "Secondly, I want to thank everyone, we are very grateful for the support of the fans throughout the season, I know that there are a lot of games that make you feel bad. Now, however, we must make a choice between staying in the past and fighting among ourselves, or moving forward together as one. The season is over, and six months ago, when I first arrived, I said the storm was coming. Today, the disastrous season is over, and I want to tell you that good days are coming!"
Amorim added: "If there is one club in the world that has proven in the past that it can overcome any difficulty, any disaster, it is Manchester United. At this point, I also want to apologise to the players, sometimes I am not fair, but I always try to be honest with you. Thank you very much and see you next season."
But not every Manchester United player will be able to say goodbye to Amorim next season, such as Garnacho and Onana. The Argentine winger, who had a public conflict with the manager after the Europa League final, sat in a private box to watch the game, and after the game, he hugged his son to the stadium to say goodbye to the fans. British media rumors say that Garnacho will be sold as long as Manchester United receive a reasonable offer. On Garnacho's future, Amorim said after the game: "Garnacho is a player at Manchester United but I don't know what the future holds, he's the same as all players.
As for Onana, Amorim said: "Onana didn't play, just to get Altay (Bayndir) to play. Sometimes the back-up goalkeeper also needs space to play and feel the importance of himself. Just Garnacho and the other players who weren't in the squad today, they're all regular players at the club, and I don't have any news that that's going to change."
Over Old Trafford, a beautiful rainbow appeared after heavy rains, some say bode well for the future. But rainbows after rain are just a natural phenomenon and do not have any foreshadowing effect. Moreover, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag have already proven that no matter how nice Amorim is, it doesn't make sense, and the Red Devils will only be able to reinvent themselves next season if the club really makes a real effort to reinvent itself.
Manchester United's season is over, but the game will continue, and they will play three times a week this week. Immediately after the match, the team departed for Asia to face the Malaysian Stars on 28 May and the Hong Kong SAR team on 30 May.