Manchester United and Aston Villa meet in Gameweek 10 – and the two sides warmed up for this weekend’s clash at Old Trafford with UEFA Champions League matches on Tuesday night.

The Villans had it tough, going down 3-0 in Barcelona.

But the Red Devils, unexpectedly, fought back from two goals down to secure a much-needed 3-2 win over Roma.

We have all the key talking points from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective below.

Game stats and graphics come from our UCL Match Centre.

GOALS/ASSISTS

SELECTION/ROTATION

MANCHESTER UNITED

• A turning point or just kicking the can down the road? Even Michael Carrick said after full-time that it was “just one game”, but at least there was a bit of fight when this match could have turned very ugly indeed.
• United had actually been pretty good in the first half against Chelsea on Saturday, too, so the next step is to sustain these levels over 90 minutes. So it was on Tuesday, with Roma going 2-0 up in the first 17 minutes and seriously threatening a third. A booed-off United didn’t have their first shot on target till just before the break. As the graphic below shows, however, a complete turnaround after half-time:

• At the heart of the comeback was Matheus Cunha (£7.8m). The Brazilian won United’s penalty that Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m) scored after a retake, before bagging a late brace. First converting Bruno’s cross after a Leonardo Balerdi error, he then latched onto Shea Lacey‘s (£4.9m) pass to fire in the winner. Cunha had also set Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m) away for a shot that hit both posts.
• Carrick switched Mbeumo and Cunha at half-time. Mbeumo had started up top but swapped to the left flank after the break, having had scraps to feed off before the interval. Cunha moved in the opposite direction. You wonder if it’s a tactic that the United boss revists in Gameweek 10 and beyond:

“We put him inside. We swapped him with Brian [Mbeumo] at half-time to try and get him in the middle of the pitch to try and give us a little bit of a different shape and put him in the centre of the pitch. And he found himself in good positions.” – Michael Carrick on Matheus Cunha

• Before Mbeumo owners get too jittery about the prospect of stints on the left, he still could/should have scored from that position with that aforementioned one-on-one that somehow stayed out after two thwacks of the woodwork. He was also close to reaching a teasing cross into the Roma box, but couldn’t stretch far enough.
• As for Bruno, more like the captain’s performance – and underlying numbers (below) – we’ve come to expect from him. In the second half, at least…

• Bruno’s initial penalty miss looked to set to continue a miserable run for the Portuguese playmaker but Roman encroachment allowed him a second bite of the cherry, ending a two-month drought without an attacking return.

“I have to say, that’s a tough situation to be in for Bruno, to go through that and to have to retake it. Certain players are made for those situations, and credit to him for that.” – Michael Carrick on the penalty retake

“The first one, it didn’t quite go in the way I wanted. I did something wrong in the things I prepared, but then I got the second chance, and I cleared my head.” – Bruno Fernandes on his two penalties

• How long before we see Lacey threatening a Premier League starting XI? The youngster came on for the ineffective Amad Diallo (£5.7m) on the right wing, catching the eye and providing the telling pass for the winner.

“Again, not going too over the top, but at the same point, absolutely delighted, for sure. We love him to bits, he’s a great young man. He’s desperate to do well. He’s got great ability. So, in terms of coming inside and finding the pass, that’s not surprising. He’s got that little glint in his eyes, he plays with a bit of mischief, if you like. So, he’s always looking to have that.

“But I was just as happy seeing him defending as a right-back when we needed that. And they’re the moments when you, as a rounded footballer, have got to be able to do that. So, I was just as pleased seeing him do that, the defensive side.” – Michael Carrick on Shea Lacey

• The edge was taken off the victory by an injury to Carlos Baleba (£4.9m). Harry Maguire (£4.7m) also looked to be hobbling when he came off after 88 minutes, but we didn’t get any update on the defender. Cunha, meanwhile, received his marching orders for two bookable offences late on, but the subsequent suspension only affects the next European fixture.

“I haven’t got any more news on Carlos at this stage but obviously it looks [like] it’s his hamstring, so we’ll just have to assess what that looks like. Initially, it doesn’t look great. Timelines, I haven’t got much more to give.” – Michael Carrick on Carlos Baleba injury

• A good response from the front players, then, but another defensive horror show provides plenty of encouragement for owners of Aston Villa assets heading into Gameweek 10. This was yet another exhibit in the body of evidence against Diego Dalot (£4.8m) being a left-back, while Maguire and especially Ayden Heaven (£4.3m) were wobbly at centre-half. Lisandro Martinez (£4.8m), benched for this one, can’t help against Villa – he’s suspended. After two poor goals (one a penalty), Roma could easily have scored another through Donyell Malen and Mathias Soule.

ASTON VILLA

• Speaking of Villa, they themselves aren’t exactly convincing defensively. Ranked 16th for expected goals conceded (xGC) in the Premier League, they gave up a hell of a lot of chances to Fulham on Saturday. And in the Nou Camp on Tuesday, they shipped three goals to their hosts – although let’s be honest, few sides are as potent as Barcelona.
• Villa were their own worst enemy at times, with Zion Suzuki (£5.0m) and his defenders playing a dangerous game trying to pass out from the back. Indeed, the opener was self-inflicted, with Joao Gomes (£5.5m) giving the ball straight to Lamine Yamal. While you can shrug off goals two and three – a deflection and some Barca brilliance, respectively – Villa did insist on playing themselves into danger on several occasions. Ian Maatsen (£4.4m) had a torrid evening at left-back, too, but then most would against Yamal.
• The good thing is that Villa did threaten going forwards. From set-piece situations, Matty Cash (£4.3m) lashed wide, Joao Gomes had a goalbound effort blocked and Leon Goretzka (£5.9m) hit the post.
• Their biggest open-play chances fell to Johan Manzambi (£6.1m). First scuffing a shot wide from a Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m) pass, he then stung the palms of Joan Garcia after some fancy footwork. He looks more of a goal threat playing in the ’10’, where he was here, but alas, where he has not been playing in the last two Gameweeks.

• On the negative side, there was another substitution just after the hour mark for Manzambi. He wasn’t alone – five of the front six had been replaced by the 77th minute – but it does continue a bit of a pattern for the Swiss attacker (below). His underlying numbers and FPL returns are still pretty good, but he’s being forced to keep pace with other FPL midfield candidates in fewer minutes.

Above image from our Minutes Tracker

• Jackson’s one and only shot was a blocked one, but he did cause problems on the break, and he teed up one of Manzambi’s chances. He himself came off after 77 minutes.
• With a generous Tuesday-Sunday turnaround, there aren’t many concerns about the starting prospects of any of Villa’s main players for Gameweek 10.

“Today, the test was definitely not in the level we wanted to achieve, but a lot of things to learn today, a lot of experiences for the players. For us, it is giving me a lot of information to analyse to try to compete in this level, hopefully, in the next months.” – Unai Emery