Manchester United snatch a draw against Aston Villa after dramatic finish

Manchester United escaped a spectacular defeat against Aston Villa in the Premier League. At Old Trafford, the visitors regained the lead after the break and then extended it, before United struck twice in stoppage time to salvage a draw. The result left Aston Villa in tenth place, while Manchester United climbed to eighteenth, gaining a point in the standings.

John McGinn converted a penalty in the 48th minute to put Aston Villa back in front. Five minutes later, Leon Goretzka scored a fourth goal for the visitors. Just as victory appeared to be within their grasp, substitute Joshua Zirkzee pulled one back in the second minute of stoppage time. Patrick Dorgu then headed home from a corner after a mistake by goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, equalising in the sixth minute of added time.

The comeback limited the damage for Manchester United in the table, but did not lift the team out of the lower reaches: it had started the match in nineteenth place, under pressure after a run of declining results. That pressure was also mounting on manager Michael Carrick. The draw moved United up one place, but it remains eighteenth. Aston Villa, meanwhile, are tenth after letting a lead that appeared to have secured victory slip away.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3-1 in London. The win helped Liverpool recover from two defeats, against Arsenal in the league and Fenerbahçe in the Champions League. Liverpool have 18 points and sit fourth after 10 matches. Crystal Palace finished bottom of the table.

Brighton also beat Brentford 2-0, with goals from Diego Gomez in the 15th minute and Pascal Gross from the penalty spot in the 42nd. Brighton thereby claimed its seventh win of the season and moved into second place, while Manchester City lost 3-1 to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.