- Man United made a stunning comeback against Aston Villa on Boxing Day
- Hojlund and Garnacho struck in the second half to help them come from behind
- CHRIS SUTTON: Nuno Espirito Santo's appointment at Forest is disappointing – Listen to It all starts
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed what he told his players at half-time to fuel their stunning second-half comeback against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
The Red Devils trailed by two at halftime after conceding a few sloppy goals to Unai Emery's side. Firstly, John McGinn took advantage of the lack of an imposing presence in United's defense as his cross from a free-kick found its way into the net.
And just five minutes later – in the 26th minute – Leander Dendoncker was able to fire the ball past Andre Onana after being unopposed just outside the six-yard box.
But the home side discovered previously unseen recoveries in the second half and managed to level thanks to an Alejandro Garnacho brace before Rasmus Hojlund scored his first goal in the Premier League in the 82nd minute to seal victory.
After the dramatic match, Ten Hag opened up about what he had told the team during the break, indicating that faith played a key role in their recovery.
Erik ten Hag has opened up about what he told his side at half-time to fuel their revival against Aston Villa
United were two goals behind the Villans at half-time after conceding a few sloppy goals
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Big-money signing Rasmus Hojlund finally broke his Premier League theft with the late winner
“The atmosphere changed a lot from the first half to the second half, but if you look at the first half, you lose because of two set plays, at times when we weren't so focused,” the Dutchman told Amazon Prime.
'I think we played quite well in the first half and kept trying and trying. At half-time I said to the team: “keep believing, and keep doing what we've been doing, actually doing even more”.
'We had to apply more and more pressure. When we applied pressure at 1-2, you see what happened.
'I said before the game that we were competitive with Arsenal and competitive with Liverpool, so if we do our best we can beat anyone. Believe that even if you are two nil down, it doesn't matter. Keep going, show character, and today they showed that we have the personality to do it. I think it was a really good team effort.”
Ten Hag saw several of his key players deliver performances that will lead many United fans to believe they can still achieve some version of success in this campaign.
Marcus Rashford returned to the starting line-up for the first time in six games and was a constant threat, Bruno Fernandes excelled in the number 10 position and Hojlund ended his long Premier League goal drought.
But it was Garnarcho, who scored the leveling goals, who was the standout.
The backlash also came at the right time for the under-fire boss, who could look into the stands and see INEOS sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford in attendance for the first time since the club's minority purchase by Sir Jim Ratcliffe this week. .
The win moved United back into the top six of the Premier League, five points clear of a top four finish, although the Manchester club has played a game more than Tottenham in fourth and two games more than Manchester City in fifth place.