Manchester United scored twice in stoppage time to salvage a dramatic 4–4 draw with Aston Villa at Old Trafford, coming back from two goals down for the second time in less than a week.
Alysson and Nicolas Jackson put Villa 2–0 up inside three minutes and 40 seconds, the fastest United have ever fallen two goals behind in a Premier League match. Bruno Fernandes pulled one back from the penalty spot before Youri Tielemans equalised against his former club in the 44th minute.
John McGinn restored Villa’s lead with a 48th-minute penalty, and Leon Goretzka made it 4–2 in the 53rd. That was still the score when substitute Joshua Zirkzee turned in Patrick Dorgu’s pass in the second minute of stoppage time. United then grabbed the equaliser in the dying moments.
Five days earlier, United had come from two goals down at the same ground to beat Roma 3–2 in the Champions League. Fernandes pulled one back before Matheus Cunha struck twice, in the 83rd and 86th minutes.
The draw leaves United 18th on eight points, ahead of Sunderland on goal difference and one point above bottom club Crystal Palace. They have won just once in ten league games, drawing five and losing four, and have yet to keep a clean sheet in the competition this season.
Their only league win came in August, when they beat Ipswich Town 5–2. They have gone eight league games without a win since and were knocked out of the League Cup at the first hurdle, squandering a two-goal lead in a 3–2 defeat to Brighton.
Michael Carrick’s future remains in doubt heading into the international break. Before the Villa game, the Sunday Mirror reported that the club’s hierarchy planned to consider a change of manager during the break. Despite their comebacks against Roma and Villa, United remain in the relegation zone ahead of their trip to face Liverpool at Anfield on 22 November.
