Manchester United

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Captain Bruno Fernandes created United's first two goals against Aston Villa.

The Portugal playmaker's near-post corner was headed in by Casemiro to give United the lead.

Then, after Ross Barkley equalised, Fernandes threaded a pass through the Villa defence for Matheus Cunha who slotted home to give United a lead they would not lose.

Fernandes now has 100 assists in all competitions for United, becoming only the fourth player - after Rooney, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham - to achieve that in the Premier League era.

In addition, his 16 league assists this term have eclipsed Beckham's tally of 15 from 1999-2000 as the most by any United player in a single campaign.

"Bruno has done it for a long period of time now, making the difference in big moments, whether he's scoring or creating," said Michael Carrick.

"He's got a great connection with Casemiro, which is the bit you can't coach."

There has been talk about Fernandes leaving United in the summer, when his contract will have one year left to run.

The 31-year-old is keen to compete at the highest level, so Champions League qualification could prove crucial.

"Bruno's definitely not someone we'd want to lose," said Carrick. "It's difficult for me to kind of go too far with that, but certainly he's important for us."

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes played a pivotal role in Sunday's 3-1 win over Aston Villa by providing two assists for Casemiro and Matheus Cunha.

The quality of his performance prompted high praise from former United striker Wayne Rooney on Match of the Day, who called him "a joy to watch and the best player in the league this season".

That was further echoed by former Premier League midfielder Charlie Adam on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily podcast.

"He's a top player," Adam said. "We saw under Ruben Amorim that he was the shining light with his performances during a tough time but he's gone to another level since Michael Carrick came in.

"In fact, the team has gone to another level and they've put themselves right in the mix for Champions League football."

So could Fernandes go on to break the Premier League assist record this season?

With 16 assists, he has already achieved the most of any Manchester United player in a single campaign after going one more than David Beckham's record of 15 from the 1999-2000 season.

The Premier League record stands at 20 and is held jointly by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne, so with 10 games remaining that record is within Fernandes' reach.

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Pundits Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

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And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Crystal Palace 0-0 Leeds

• Manchester United 3-1 Aston Villa

• Nottingham Forest 0-0 Fulham

• Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

A couple of years ago, Casemiro's move to United seemed to be adding a sad postscript to a stellar career for a man who has won five Champions League trophies.

Not any more.

When the veteran Brazilian's number 18 went up to signal his exit as the game entered stoppage time, Old Trafford stood to applaud.

Before that, the Stretford End had bellowed "'one more year", demanding an extension to a contract that will expire on 30 June and which it has already been decided - and announced - will not be renewed.

After he leaped highest at the near post to turn home Fernandes' corner, Casemiro seemed to spend an age pointing to the crest on his shirt, and then to the fans saluting him, as if to say he is one of them.

It was his sixth headed goal of this league campaign. No-one else has scored more than four.

That alone would give United's recruitment specialists a concern about how to replace him.

But the 34-year-old offers so much more with his defensive nous.

As Villa were pressing for a second equaliser, he diffused danger by striding across United's box, calmly winning the ball and then working it out to a team-mate in space.

That moment may not come up in any statistical analysis. But in terms of United securing this victory, it was priceless.

"One more year," the home fans sang again as Casemiro made his way down the tunnel. It is easy to understand why they want it to happen.

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick, speaking to BBC Match of the Day after their win over Aston Villa: "I was pretty happy with a lot of things. We looked a good team. Credit to them, they had a couple of spells in the game but for the most part we were dangerous. It was a big game coming off the defeat. The boys reacted incredibly well.

"Two good teams. It's not always going to be all guns blazing, edge-of-your-seat stuff. We were in a good place at half-time and wanted a little bit more. We knew we were capable of it and the boys were fantastic to finish it off."

On Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro's partnership: "They have a really good understanding between them. Some things you can coach, some things you can't."

On Fernandes: "We're delighted to have him. He's proven over a period of time how impactful he is in the big moments. He's there all the time, he puts himself forward in training and games. You can always count on him to be there. It's a really good trait to have. He's been through ups and downs here but it's never knocked him. He was there today to make the difference."

On pole position for third place: "We can enjoy winning. It's a good feeling and something we want to keep getting used to. We are keeping a lid on it and understanding where we are and what it takes to win games like today. We are in a good position at the moment but still a lot to play for."

Did you know?

• Since Michael Carrick's first league match back in charge of Manchester United on January 17th, the Red Devils have earned 22 points in nine Premier League games (W7 D1 L1), more than any other side.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Man Utd's performance

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Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Michael Carrick makes two changes to the Manchester United side that lost at Newcastle last time out.

Amad Diallo replaces Benjamin Sesko in attack, while Diogo Dalot comes in for Noussair Mazraoui.

Sesko and Mazraoui are both on the bench, where they are joined by Mason Mount, who has missed six games due to injury.

Manchester United XI: Lammens, Dalot, Yoro, Maguire, Shaw, Casemiro, Mainoo, Amad, Fernandes, Cunha, Mbeumo.

Subs: Bayindir, Mazraoui, Mount, Zirkzee, Malacia, Ugarte, Heaven, Sesko, T Fletcher.

Aston Villa captain John McGinn starts for the first time since injuring his knee against Everton on 18 January, while Tyrone Mings and Ross Barkley are also included as Unai Emery makes three changes from the midweek Europa League win at Lille.

On-loan Jadon Sancho misses out as he is not allowed to play against his parent club. Douglas Luiz and Pau Torres drop to the bench.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Bogarde, Konsa, Mings, Digne, McGinn, Onana, Barkley, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins.

Subs: Bizot, Lindelof, Elliott, Torres, Andres Garcia, Abraham, Douglas Luiz, Maatsen, Bailey.

There are four games in the Premier League on Sunday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Crystal Palace v Leeds - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Man Utd v Aston Villa - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Nottingham Forest v Fulham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Liverpool v Tottenham (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-offs 14:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Crystal Palace v Leeds" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Liverpool v Spurs", for instance.

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This is third versus fourth going into this round of matches, and it feels big for both teams' seasons.

It is important for Michael Carrick that he gets back on track after suffering his first defeat as United manager, to 10-man Newcastle.

The wheels have come off for Aston Villa in a big way and Unai Emery was obviously right when he was so negative about his side's title hopes.

It's hard to make a case for Villa because they look really flat. They started the season poorly, and it looks like they are going to finish it poorly too.

Villa won 2-1 when they met before Christmas. Let's go for a reverse of that scoreline.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester United go in search of a fifth consecutive home win against an Aston Villa side also targeting Champions League qualification. BBC Sport examines some of the key themes before Sunday's match (14:00 GMT).

Fernandes on cusp of assist record

Manchester United's 2-1 defeat at Newcastle last week was their first in the Premier League since losing to Villa before Christmas, and ended Michael Carrick's unbeaten record as boss. But while Villa face a quick turnaround following their Europa League win on Thursday, United have had 10 days to digest the lessons from St James' Park and prepare for this fixture.

Carrick has won all five of his top-flight games as a manager at Old Trafford, including one as caretaker in 2021. Victory on Sunday would mean he joins an elite list of men to win each of their opening six matches as a Premier League boss, following in the footsteps of Sven-Goran Eriksson, Carlo Ancelotti and Manuel Pellegrini.

If Carrick is to add his name to that list then captain Bruno Fernandes will, as usual, have to play a key role. His goals and assists have already been worth a combined 23 points this season.

The 31-year-old, who created Casemiro's goal against Newcastle last time out, has 14 Premier League assists this term. That is one short of the record by a United player in a campaign, set by David Beckham 26 years ago.

Villa return to scene of painful defeat

Aston Villa's hopes of Champions League qualification ended at Old Trafford on the final day of last season, with Unai Emery's side controversially beaten 2-0.

Villa complained to referees' body PGMOL after Morgan Rogers had an opening goal disallowed for kicking the ball out of Altay Bayindir's hands. TV replays suggested the goalkeeper may not have been in control, but because referee Thomas Bramall blew his whistle before Rogers scored, VAR was unable to review the decision.

Villa's chances of returning to the Champions League next season have been dented by inconsistent form since the turn of the year, with just two victories from their past nine top-flight matches. They have also lost back-to-back league games against Wolves and Chelsea, although they did beat Lille on Thursday – making them the only one of the Premier League's nine European representatives to win this week. The result also brought up Emery's 100th victory in charge.

John McGinn returned at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy after two months out injured but Villa remain without Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans. The Villans have not won a league game this season without at least one of those three key midfielders in their starting line-up.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

With fifth place likely to lead to Champions League qualification again, just three points separate Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool for a place in the top five, with one of those sides looking set to miss out.

Some would say Villa have the easiest run-in of the quartet. After a tough trip to Old Trafford this weekend, they face four of the bottom six in their next six games, although whether playing sides fighting for survival is an advantage at this stage is debatable.

Liverpool are the team currently outside the top five. They have the chance to build momentum against a run of mid-table sides before tackling a daunting series of games in May, when they play all three of their Champions League-chasing rivals in succession.

A couple of months ago, Aston Villa looked almost nailed on for a top-five finish as they sat at least eight points clear of the other three teams despite their underlying numbers being much worse.

They were even portrayed as possible title contenders, but a spate of injuries to key players and a drying-up of the xG-defying screamers they scored from outside the box earlier in the season allowed their rivals to make up ground.

Read more here

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It is a measure of JJ Gabriel's impact on Manchester United's Under-18 team this season that he has been the subject of questions in three different pre-match media conferences despite the fact he is only 15.

The Londoner is prevented from playing in the Premier League due to age restrictions and his only hope of a first team debut this season disappeared when United lost to Brighton in the third round of the FA Cup.

Yet interest around Gabriel persists.

He trained with the senior squad this week ahead of what is likely to be a key role in Wednesday's FA Youth Cup quarter-final against Sunderland at Old Trafford.

After Ruben Amorim and Darren Fletcher – who is Gabriel's Under-18s coach – today it was Michael Carrick's turn to be quizzed about the teenager, who is the subject of interest across Europe and is presently top of the Premier League U18 scoring charts with 18 goals.

"He's doing really well, JJ," he said.

"We're always trying to give that exposure to players, for them to come and train and feel it.

"JJ is a big talent. It's pretty obvious to know that and he's had a really good season for the under-18s.

"We obviously think an awful lot of him. But patience is important in managing everything that comes with that.

"It is about picking the right moment to step up, picking the moment to leave them in a certain place.

"What he's done when he's trained, he's done well as you'd expect."

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Aston Villa at Old Trafford (kick-off 14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Carrick is "not worried about" former United team-mate Paul Scholes posting on Instagram that the club "have been [expletive] last four games" under him. He says: "It was nothing really, nothing to say about it. That is just where we are in terms of social media and captions and quotes that can be taken in different ways, so be calm about it."

• The United boss confirmed Mason Mount has returned to training and could be involved on Sunday but said the midfielder "is not 100% and has only trained for a small period of time". He added that no other players are set for return from injury.

• Carrick said defender Harry Maguire "has put himself back in the [England] frame, if he was ever out of it" with his recent performances for the club.

• He said 15-year-old forward JJ Gabriel is "too young" to make the matchday squad but added that he "is a big talent and doing really well".

• Carrick said "it was disappointing" to suffer the 2-1 defeat by Newcastle last week - their first loss under him - but he added: "We have digested that, looked at it, learned from it, trained really well this week and the boys are itching to get going."

• Asked whether facing fellow top-four contenders Aston Villa after the defeat is the biggest challenge of his current spell, Carrick says: "They were always going to be a test. The first defeat feels different but it was going to come at some point. It has been a really good week in many ways and we have put ourselves in a position where there is an awful lot to play for."

• Carrick previously managed Villa attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers during their time together at Middlesbrough. He said "it's fantastic to see Rogers going on to do so well" and admits he "wasn't sure how it was going to go" when the player joined Boro in 2023 after a loan spell with Blackpool.

• He said Jadon Sancho, who is on loan at Villa from United, "has got the talent" and it is "credit to him that he is having an impact" at Villa Park.

Hit play above to hear more from Carrick or listen on BBC Sounds here

There will be live radio commentary of the game on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website.

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Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United's Premier League International Cup quarter-final against Real Madrid will be played at Old Trafford on Tuesday, 7 April (1900 BST).

There had been a delay in sorting the game out as organisers wanted to use Old Trafford rather than Leigh for what the Premier League believe will be a chance to showcase their competition.

Southampton had a crowd of almost 11,000 for their group-stage meeting with Real at St Mary's Stadium in October.

Remarkably, Real's scorer in their 1-1 draw that night was Thiago Pitarch, who started against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday.

United are looking to become the fourth English winner of the annual tournament, and the third in a row following the previous successes of Crystal Palace and, last season, Nottingham Forest.

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Remarkably, Manchester United are in the middle of a run when they will play on Saturday or Sunday just three times in 11 weekends - and the TV fixtures beyond that have not been chosen yet.

After Sunday's visit of Aston Villa to Old Trafford, United's next weekend match is on Saturday, 18 April, when they go to Chelsea for an 20:00 BST kick-off.

Michael Carrick's actual news conference to preview the crucial game against Villa has been brought forward to 12:30 GMT on Friday, to allow him to watch the Premier League 2 encounter with Southampton, which in itself has been moved to Carrington from Leigh Sports Village, where it was initially scheduled to be played later.

The material is embargoed to 13:30 though, so the chances are Carrick will be out on the training pitches when it is actually published.

Come back to this page later on Friday for all the key lines from Carrick.

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United defender Ayden Heaven is set for England recognition later this month.

Heaven was injured on Under-20 duty in October, since when it has become clear he views his international future as being with the Three Lions rather than Ghana, who he also qualifies for through a grandparent and who were looking at him as potentially being part of their World Cup squad.

Although Heaven wasn't selected for international duty in November, sources close to the player anticipate he will be involved for one of the age group teams later this month.

The Under-20 squad are playing in Italy on 27 March, the Under-21s play Andorra and Moldova in European Championship qualifiers, while the Under-19 side take on Portugal, Poland and Serbia as they look to reach the Euros, which will be played in north Wales this summer.

Heaven has made 13 Premier League appearances for Manchester United this season, starting eight times. However, he has played just three times under Michael Carrick, all as a substitute, totalling just seven minutes.

Meanwhile, speaking to Capital XTRA Breakfast, Heaven was non-committal when asked for his thoughts on the United managerial situation.

"I don't mind, honestly. I'm just waiting to see," he said. "Just whatever's going to get us over the line."

Wayne Rooney welcomes his former England and Manchester United team-mate Michael Owen on the latest edition of The Wayne Rooney Show.

Like Rooney at Everton, Owen burst on to the scene as a teenager at Liverpool, so the pair discuss who was the better player at 18, and also whether Michael Carrick should get the United job permanently.

Rooney and Owen were at the centre of an intense "who was better?" debate last year.

The conversation began in September when Owen backed himself, external, saying injuries had hindered his own career, before adding: "He'll go down as a better player than me. But, at 17, please... "

However, the 2001 Ballon d'Or winner was more diplomatic on Rooney's podcast when they considered who was the better footballer at 18.

Owen recalled the period when Rooney emerged as a teenage England star at Euro 2004 - six years after Owen had made a similar splash at the 1998 World Cup.

"It felt like it took me ages to become England's number one striker and it felt like I was only there for two weeks before he came along and I had to become the sideshow," said Owen, who played 89 times for England compared to Rooney's 120 appearances.

Rooney said: "I used to pretend to be Michael in the World Cup in 1998, and then I was in the squad and playing up front with him.

"I was in the garden two years before hitting the ball against my nan's wall pretending to be Michael and all of a sudden I'm playing alongside him."

Hit play above to hear the whole episode or listen here on BBC Sounds

Manchester United have been scouting West Ham's 21-year-old Portuguese midfielder Mateus Fernandes, who will seek a summer move if the club are relegated. (Talksport), external

Newcastle and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali is on Manchester United's shortlist of possible midfield targets. (Sun), external

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