The way that the opening 45 minutes between Aston Villa and Manchester United at Old Trafford played out is exactly what Villa supporters feared. Despite a team that has largely been unimpressive and unable to pull together positive results, it was the visitors who looked out of sorts and unable to get a hold on the match.
For a slight positive aspect, it was still 0-0 heading into the dressing rooms. In truth, it was a break that Unai Emery could not have asked for at a better time. What made the first half maybe most shocking was how it was Villa on the back foot for most of the beginning portion of this game.
Once the allotted two minutes of stoppage time were announced, Matty Cash played a ball back into the path of Rasmus Højlund. Emiliano Martínez came out and saw a straight red card for making contact with the United striker.
Steep obstacle for Aston Villa ahead
This forced Emery to take off Marco Asensio as Robin Olsen came in to replace the Villa No. 1. As is, the first half showed that it was going to be a difficult task anyway. In an effort to perhaps exorcise the Old Trafford demons, the first 45 minutes maybe could not have gone worse than what they had.
There is the punch of Donyell Malen on the bench for Emery to potentially turn to if the result stays the same for too much longer. Certainly the task has become that much more difficult in a 10 vs. 11 match now away from Villa Park.