Manchester United moved a step closer toward securing Champions League qualification after edging past an in-form Aston Villa side on Sunday afternoon, with a first-half strike from Bruno Fernandes ultimately proving the difference at Old Trafford.
Just a few days on from the second-half collapse away to Tottenham Hotspur, the Red Devils put in a professional performance this time around to seal all three points and end the visitors impressive, ten-game unbeaten run in the process.
For all United’s dominance on the day – having enjoyed 57% possession and had 14 shots at goal – the top-four hopefuls were still reliant on some defensive heroics to help get over the line, with Victor Lindelof notably producing a “magnificent” goalline clearance in the second half, as per Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst.
That intervention epitomised what was yet another “excellent” performance from the Sweden international, in the words of Luckhurst, as the 28-year-old has truly stepped up to the mark in the absence of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane in recent weeks.
How did Lindelof play against Villa?
While there have been question marks surrounding the former Benfica man’s long-term future at the Theatre of Dreams in recent months – amid reports that he could be shown the door this summer – the £120k-per-week ace has shown of late that he can be an invaluable asset for manager, Erik ten Hag.
The ‘Ice Man’ was notably something of a hero in the Wembley win over Brighton and Hove Albion just over a week ago, having also showed his class in the victory away to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League prior to that.
On what was his fifth successive start, the experienced centre-back produced “one of his best performances” for the club to date, according to Luckhurst, with one journalist even going as far as to suggest that it was “one of the finest defensive displays for United in recent seasons”.
That was evidenced by the fact that the 58-cap rock was a real composed and dominant presence at the heart of the backline having lost possession on just three occasions from his 72 touches and recorded a 97% pass accuracy rate, while also recording four clearances on the day.
Despite not having been engaged in a physical battle with Ollie Watkins – after winning one of only two total duels – Lindelof still ‘put his body on the line for the cause’, as per GOAL’s Harry Sherlock, having done all he could to help secure a 15th league clean sheet of the season for goalkeeper, David De Gea.
As The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell noted, yesterday’s outing was “another tick” for the centre-back partnership of the Swede and usual left-back, Luke Shaw, with it looking increasingly unlikely that club captain Harry Maguire will be able to force his way into the side in the coming games.