Challenge Climb for Manchester United Near Champions League Peak!

It all started with a set-piece, as so many Premier League games seem to these days, but by the end Manchester United ’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa had become an advert for the benefits of good old fashioned wingers and number nines. Much has been made of the role of set-pieces in the league as several sides have struggled to reliably create goals from open play, but in the end United took a giant leap towards next season’s Champions League in a more familiar manner, with Matheus Cunha the star as he and Benjamin Sesko sealed the result. In the end, a 3-1 win for Michael Carrick ’s side takes them three points clear of the Villans in the battle for the top five, but while it’s a win that puts United in an enviable position, it was a scoreline that flattered the hosts.

It was a performance that was not as convincing as the result suggests. In the end it followed a similar blueprint for Carrick’s United, but this time around the tried-and-tested method raised a different conclusion. Sesko's goal was his fourth in his last five games (Manchester United/Getty) Recent United games have been defined by Benjamin Sesko cameos, with the Slovenian striker coming off the bench to score against Fulham, West Ham and Everton.

That was the case again this afternoon, and while the 22-year-old didn’t net a winner this time, it was a cameo that might have convinced Carrick to take a different route forward for the rest of the season. The interim United boss once again chose Bryan Mbeumo to start as a lone striker at Old Trafford – as he had for six of his previous eight matches in charge – while Sesko settled for a place on the bench, the plan seemingly to bring him on around the 70th minute as has worked to great effect previously. However, once again United laboured in the absence of a recognised striker in the starting line-up, the hosts struggling to create clear-cut chances despite a few threatening crosses.

Diogo Dalot wasted a golden chance from close range, while Mbeumo toiled in attack. The Cameroon international did not possess enough of a presence in the box, at one point failing to get across the defender and finish a superb Dalot cross. The Slovenian has also scored pivotal goals against Fulham, West Ham, Everton and Palace (Martin Rickett/PA Wire) When the opener did come, it was via a familiar route: Casemiro glancing in a header from a corner.