Not sure how the match could have gone any worse for Aston Villa. Everton even gave AVFC the needed result to go through to Champions League. There is not too much of a debate; however, the Villans did not play well enough to earn a result on the day.
That being said, Morgan Rogers and Villa were robbed of a goal, or at the very least, the chance for VAR to correct the free kick that was granted for Manchester United.
A keeper needs to have both hands on the ball or the ball trapped with one part of the body and a surface. That was simply not the case for Altay Bayındır. An alert Rogers poked at the ball when it was not in the keeper's control any longer and then managed to work himself with the ball in the penalty area and shot on an empty net.
Just as he was aiming to kick, the head official blew the whistle. VAR has its limitations and deserved criticisms. As the rules are currently set up and how matches have been consistently officiated, the officials are supposed to let moments play out and then make a decision.
From there, VAR can then intervene and correct as needed. Unfortunately for Villa, the whistle blew before the ball hit the back of the net. This consequently did not allow for the goal to be granted after the fact.
The technicality of the whistle coming even five seconds later undoubtedly changed the course of the game and the immediate future of Villa.
As seen against legitimate top sides away from Villa Park, when this Villa team needs to pack it in, they are a tremendously difficult unit to break down. Being up 1-0 versus shortly thereafter chasing a result after conceding while down a man are two entirely different things.
It must be noted, though, that Villa did not do enough on the day. For the vast majority of this fixture, it was more akin to the Champions League first leg against PSG at Parc des Princes than a match against a clear bottom-half team.
Putting Aston Villa season into perspective
For all of the success that Villa has seen this season, this one was a complete gut punch. Still, Europa League is now the mission, and Unai Emery will look to compete in the FA Cup and for a top position in the EPL next season with whoever is at the club once the summer activity is completed.
For today, it is a moment of twofold anger. It's disappointing that Villa showed up flat today, but even more so that the Villans weren't given the chance to fairly fight and scrap for a result in Manchester.