(VIDEO) Ten Hag's secret of success for Manchester United against Aston Villa

The match between Manchester United and Aston Villa seemed to be one of the most important matches of the 19th Premier League matchday. The Red Devils needed to win to silence the criticism of the players and the coach for the poor performances of the last few weeks, as well as to get closer to the qualification zone for international tournaments. And the Villans had the chance to become joint-top of the table with Liverpool, at least until Arsenal face West Ham United on Thursday.

And they did not disappoint the fans. At Old Trafford they put on a great show, full of goals and emotions, and with uncertainty about the result until the end. The visitors got off to a better start, as after 25 minutes of the first half they were leading 2-0 through goals from John McGinn, with a free kick that goalkeeper Andre Onana could not save, and Leander Dendoncker.

But then things changed. The hosts reacted in time, started to control the ball and create dangerous situations. In the second half Alejandro Garnacho netted three goals, although one of them was ruled out by the VAR. On 14 minutes he received a drilled cross from Marcus Rashford and shot smoothly, while on 26 minutes he caught a rebound in the box, shot and, thanks to a deflection off Diego Carlos, beat the resistance of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Garnacho's great performance was a wise decision by Erik Ten Hag. The coach decided this time to use him as a right-winger and not on the left, as he had played in the last matches. Rashford played in that position, assisting the Argentine player in the team's first goal.

Negative streak ended

Rasmus Hojlund grabbed the winner 37 minutes into the second half, when he found the ball inside the box after a corner kick and shot with his left foot. This goal not only gave Manchester United the win, but also allowed the Norwegian striker to break a negative streak: he had yet to score in the Premier League. All his goals had been in the Champions League.