Plus: Aston Villa's squad is being stretched to the limit after Ezri Konsa became the latest player to sustain an injury; Chelsea's winning run was brought to an end by 10-player Nottingham Forest who battled to a draw at Stamford Bridge to maintain their own strong start to the season
Sunday 6 October 2024 20:46, UK
"At one point I thought Gary and Phil Neville might be the full-backs," quipped Gary Neville after hearing about the inclusion of his 36-year-old former team-mate Jonny Evans in Manchester United's starting line-up for Sunday's clash with Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Erik ten Hag made bold calls with his team selection, drafting in Harry Maguire as well as Evans as Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez were dropped following the defensive horror shows against Spurs and Porto. But what followed was their best defensive display of the season in the goalless draw.
Neville was eager to stress that it seemed a desperate move ahead of kick-off. "This is not the plan," said the Sky Sports pundit. "The plan this season was for Erik ten Hag to establish his style of play, shift them up the pitch and make them more aggressive."
But the changes did at least have the desired effect in the short term. Maguire was forced off at half-time due to injury but Evans battled through the 90 minutes as United's best player, earning the player-of-the-match award in a performance which belied his age.
Villa had won a third consecutive home game with their Champions League victory over Bayern Munich in midweek but United limited them to 11 shots worth a meagre 0.42 expected goals and Evans was key, winning 11 out of 12 duels and all five of his aerials.
Ollie Watkins had the beating of him in terms of pace, but the Aston Villa striker did not get a chance to use it, such was the intelligence of Evans' positioning. This was hardly a corner turned for United. But Evans helped give Ten Hag what he needed on the day.
Nick Wright
Worryingly for Aston Villa and Unai Emery, his side look tired already - and you cannot blame them. Villa gave absolutely everything to beat Bayern Munich in midweek and lost both Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey to injury while doing so.
Leon Bailey, who is not fully fit himself, started the game against United and put in a solid shift - but it highlights how stretched Emery's squad already is.
On top of this, England international Ezri Konsa was forced off in the first half and looked a frustrated character on the bench as the 0-0 draw played out.
The attacking display against United looked tired and laborious at times. Crosses failing to beat the first man, players unaware of their surroundings and ultimately a lack of threat throughout.
The international break has possibly arrived at the perfect time for Villa. They need a pause in play and an opportunity to get some players, such as Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings, back into the first-team picture to offer some well-needed support moving forward.
"We don't have those players [to bring on] as they are injured," Emery said after the game when asked about the lack of depth, where he also highlighted the absence of captain John McGinn, who has missed the last four games.
The draw against United now makes it eight games without defeat for Villa - but how long they can carry this on with the volume of games and the current injury problems sweeping the squad, remains to be seen.
Patrick Rowe
This was not exactly the perfect time to be facing Chelsea for Nottingham Forest. Enzo Maresca was eyeing a sixth straight win in all competitions, but in the end the Italian was grateful in some respects for a point from the 1-1 draw despite playing the final 25 minutes, including stoppages, against 10 players.
Were it not for Robert Sanchez's heroics, Forest would have claimed back-to-back league wins at Stamford Bridge for the first time since January 1908.
They remain unbeaten on the road and, after seven games, no side has a better away defensive record than Nuno Espirito Santo's team - something he puts down to hard work.
"Since last season, our commitment has been to improve in this aspect," he said. "You cannot play in the Premier League if you are not solid and compact and strong in defence. They're doing well in that aspect through hard work and resilience. We have to continue, and we cannot ever ignore the quality of our opponents and the fact that we have to defend."
Espirito Santo joined his coaching staff in a huddle after Chris Wood's opener - a celebration of a set-piece routine honed on the training ground coming to fruition. Nothing is left to chance.
The way in which Forest absorbed Chelsea's late bombardment will have pleased the Portuguese just as much as the fighting spirit shown during the second-half fracas that sparked the dramatic denouement.
To see talisman Morgan Gibbs-White hobble off with an ankle injury and then go down to 10 players following James Ward-Prowse's sending off only to very nearly come away with all three points underlines Forest's progress as an upwardly-mobile outfit. To the Premier League's established order, they are becoming a scalp.
After defeating Liverpool, the circumstances made this point every bit as impressive.
Ben Grounds
Maresca is trying to take Chelsea to the top of the Premier League, but the Blues lead the standings in one category - and it is not a positive one.
The Blues have now picked up 27 yellow cards, more than any other top-flight team. The draw with Nottingham Forest was the second time this season Chelsea have met the yellow-card threshold of six - which warrants a £25,000 fine.
But more worryingly, it leaves Chelsea with some holes in defence. Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella picked up their fifth bookings of the season which means a weakened Blues backline will head to Liverpool on October 20, live on Sky Sports.
Missing the impressive Cucurella is a concern, with Renato Veiga or potentially even Ben Chilwell now needing to step up to stop a rampant Mohamed Salah. Meanwhile, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer are now both on three yellow cards. Missing those two players for any game would be a concern given how reliant Chelsea have been on them for attacking output this season.
Maresca says he is not concerned by Chelsea's yellow cards. His goalkeeper Robert Sanchez starting this season brilliantly and lessening the defensive blow helps his case. But the Chelsea manager must be wary of this disciplinary issue at the club, as it could come back to haunt them.
Sam Blitz
Ange Postecoglou blamed Tottenham's incredible collapse at Brighton on a lack of application rather than anything that tactically changed in the second half. That is hard to argue against, yet what was glaring obvious after the break was how little of the ball Spurs managed to get into Dominic Solanke. The striker was excellent for 45 minutes, playing a huge role in both goals and offering Spurs an option to set their attacks from.
Despite his influence, Solanke only had 20 touches of the ball in the entire game, the fewest of any player that started the game across both teams. Spurs should have utilised him more, especially in the second half where he was anonymous as Tottenham failed miserably at chasing the game when 3-2 behind.
Former Spurs striker Les Ferdinand was left perplexed about the lack of service Solanke got, he said: "In the first half Spurs always had the out-ball with Solanke - they never used him in the second half. He never got the chance to hold it up and bring people in. He hardly touched the ball, through no fault of his own."
Brighton's key player, Kaoru Mitoma, had 51 touches. Play to your strengths they say. That proved the difference between the teams.
Lewis Jones
