Gary Lineker pointed out Matheus Cunha and another Manchester United player who he felt stood out during Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Despite the result, there were positives in the performance, even if they did not come away with any points.
Morgan Rogers opened the scoring for Aston Villa just before half-time, with a well-taken goal in the 45th minute. Matheus Cunha responded for United during first-half stoppage time.
Patrick Dorgu took advantage of a loose ball after dispossessing Matty Cash, and Cunha curled a fine effort past Emiliano Martinez to draw United level.
The teams went into half-time level at 1-1 before Rogers made his mark again after the break, netting what would turn out to be the match-winner.
Gary Lineker’s response to Matheus Cunha’s Manchester United performance after 2-1 Premier League loss to Aston Villa
United fell short in the second half, failing to find an equaliser as Rogers finished with both goals for the home side.
Cunha had a chance late on to grab his second of the match, but could not direct his header on target from close range.
Despite the result, Gary Lineker spoke on The Rest Is Football podcast and said he sees real progress under Ruben Amorim.
The former Match of the Day host also pointed to Cunha’s signing from Wolves as another positive step forward for the club.
“Yeah, they really do. I would say I can see improvement in Manchester United this season.
“I think reasons for optimism; obviously, there’s been a lot of pessimism about Manchester United for a long time, but I genuinely see a team that is progressing,” he stated.
Lineker added: “It’s slow progress, but I think definitely moving in the right direction. I thought, you know, Cunha is a really good footballer. I mean, he should have scored the header, though.
“These flicky headers, I just… head it back where it came from. But he will know that, you know, having said that, he did finish his goal really, really well.
“Yeah, I think they’re getting the balance better, especially when you consider [there are] quite a lot of injuries and at the back.”
Matheus Cunha gets Gary Lineker’s backing, but Ayden Heaven’s display really stood out
Ayden Heaven started as the central figure in Ruben Amorim’s three-man defence during Manchester United’s 2-1 loss at Villa Park.
The 19-year-old looked composed throughout, and Lineker was full of praise for how he handled the occasion.
“I thought young Ayden Heaven did really well, a mature performance.
“There’s a lot of pressure on that because you’re the middleman out of the three as well. So, I thought he did exceptionally well.
“And they [Man Utd] are a threat going forward.
“But they couldn’t obviously deal with Morgan Rogers, who, I mean, taking that debate a little bit further, I mean, it’s a lovely problem for [England manager] Thomas Tuchel to have,” Lineker concluded.
In the absence of injured players Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, United manager Amorim has recently given playing time to Red Devils prospect Heaven.
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