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Pressure still on Man United despite pluck of the draw
James Robson • November 9th, 2026 11:33 am
Manchester United have rallied late to secure a nerve-shredding draw with Aston Villa | Photo: EPA
Manchester United have done it again.
Two goals down inside four minutes against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday (Monday NZ time) and trailing 4-2 going into second-half added time, United rallied to a 4-4 draw on another night of mayhem and drama at Old Trafford.
Whether it has sufficiently eased the pressure on coach Michael Carrick after the comeback win against Roma in the Champions League midweek remains to be seen.
Patrick Dorgu rose to the occasion with a late goal to secure a draw for Manchester United | Photo: EPA
The 20-time English champions go into the international break 18th in the standings and in the relegation zone with just one win from 10 games. United's winless run in the league was extended to eight.
"I don't feel happy. We are in a bad situation and we need to fight together to get out of it," said United defender Patrick Dorgu, who headed in the last-gasp equaliser.
"Everyone needs to look at themselves and ask themselves if they are good enough. We need to fight for the coach and the club. We need to get out of this together."
Late goals from substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Dorgu sparked a party inside the stadium after fans had been in mutinous mood, staging the latest protest against the club's owners.
Even after another rousing fightback, Carrick's position remains uncertain, with United searching for a first league win since August 30.
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick had more than a few nervous moments against Villa | Photo: EPA
After going 2-0 down against Roma inside 17 minutes on Tuesday, United conceded twice in the first four against Villa, with Alysson and Nicolas Jackson on target.
Once again there was a response - Bruno Fernandes scoring from the penalty spot and Youri Tielemans levelling before the break.
Villa soon reasserted their dominance in the second half, with John McGinn converting a penalty and Leon Goretska adding a fourth.
United looked to be headed for their fifth league defeat until Zirkzee converted inside the box and Dorgu headed in from a corner in the sixth minute of added time.
"We are making it hard for ourselves. A lot of the performance was very good. The way we started both halves made it challenging for ourselves. There were mistakes that we know shouldn't happen and the boys know shouldn't happen," Carrick said.
"We need to improve the position we are in. I firmly believe if we tighten up the big moments that we can move forward."
Even after salvaging a late draw, there is still likely to be speculation about Carrick's position before United next plays against fierce rivals Liverpool on November 22.
High flying Brighton moved up second in the Premier League with a 2-0 win against Brentford.
Pascal Gross was on target in Brighton's win over Brentford | Photo: AP
Liverpool are back to winning ways, beating Crystal Palace 3-1, while Chelsea fell to a 1-0 defeat to relegation-fighting Sunderland.
Brighton's outstanding start to the campaign continued with a seventh win from 10 games to leave them five points adrift of leaders and defending champions Arsenal.
Goals from Diego Gomez and Pascal Gross secured victory at the Amex Stadium for Fabian Hurzeler's team.
Liverpool rebounded from back-to-back losses to Arsenal in the league and Fenerbahce in the Champions League to pick up three points at Palace.
Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak were all on target at Selhurst Park. A stoppage-time penalty from Eddie Nketiah reduced the deficit, but did little to ease the pressure on Palace coach Pierre Sage, with his team bottom of the standings.
Sunderland moved off the foot of the table with victory over Chelsea. Enzo Le Fee's first-half penalty settled the game at the Stadium of Light and saw Chelsea drop to fifth, with Liverpool climbing to fourth.
Bournemouth are seventh after a 2-1 win at Ipswich.
