Ten Hag’s Man United remind fans of task ahead with Aston Villa draw

United let a two-goal lead slip as the Villans fought back in the second half for a share of the spoils.

Manchester United dominated the opening half and went into the break 2-0 ahead courtesy of goals from Jadon Sancho and Matthew Cash’s own goal.

Sancho’s goal was another page in the Erik Ten Hag blueprint for Manchester United as Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw combined beautifully to set up Sancho for his third goal in pre-season.

United’s second goal involved another beautiful move from the Red Devils which forced Cash into putting the ball in his net while trying to stop Rashford.

Another good half from Ten Hag’s Red Devils and a deserved lead heading into the break.

After the break, Steven Gerrard made changes as he looks for an immediate response from the Villians.

It took just five minutes in the second half for Villa to get back into the game, Inspired by one of the substitutes, Leon Bailey, who pulled one back with an excellent left-footed effort from just outside the box.

Villa was renewed after that goal and dominated Manchester United throughout the second 45 minutes. The Villians had 10 attempts in the second half compared to United’s only one attempt.

But the stubborn Villians still had to wait until the last kick of the game for a deserved equaliser.

United defenders failed to deal with a corner kick from that man, Bailey, and Callum Chambers towers over everyone else to head into an empty net.

Deserved share of the spoils for Gerrard and his boys, who preserved their unbeaten run in the preseason.

Manchester United have had an excellent preseason so far under Erik Ten Hag, playing some wonderful Ajax-inspired football.

The Red Devils scored 13 goals and conceded four in four matches so far on tour, winning three and losing none of those games.

While the quartet of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Sancho and Bruno Fernandes have all impressed alongside some youngsters, that second-half performance against Villa points to what lies ahead for Ten Hag and his Devils.

United lacked control and struggled to keep the ball in a way they wanted and watched Villa out-fought and run them in the second half.

There were positives, nevertheless, from the game obviously, but United has got more work to do ahead of the season which kicks off in just 15 days. It remains a work in progress for Ten Hag and his coaching staff.