Bruno Fernandes missed a stoppage-time penalty as Aston Villa prevented Manchester United moving top of the Premier League with a deserved 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.
Just when it seemed a catalogue of missed gilt-edged chances would cost Villa a first win at Old Trafford since 2009, defender Kortney Hause broke the deadlock two minutes from time with a brilliant near-post header past a helpless David de Gea.
In a dramatic late finale, Hause went from hero to villain in the space of three minutes when he was adjudged to have blocked substitute Edinson Cavani’s header with his arm in added time.
VAR upheld the contentious on-field decision but Villa felt justice was served when penalty specialist Fernandes – having kept the ball from Cristiano Ronaldo – blazed woefully over the target to end United’s hopes of salvaging a point.
United’s first defeat of the season, which was compounded by injuries to Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire, sees Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side slip to fourth in the table, while Villa climb to seventh after securing back-to-back wins.
