Man Utd: Erik ten Hag reveals Scott McTominay tactics plan after ‘massive’ Aston Villa win | OneFootball

Manchester United's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are back on after a late winner against Aston Villa.

Erik ten Hag has admitted victory over Aston Villa is a “massive” result for Manchester United’s season and revealed his tactical thinking behind deploying match-winning super sub Scott McTominay.

Sunday’s match at Villa Park appeared to be drifting towards a draw after Douglas Luiz cancelled out Rasmus Hojlund’s opener, but McTominay secured a priceless victory by heading past Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez with four minutes left on the clock.

McTominay’s intervention came after he replaced Marcus Rashford on 73 minutes as both sides seemed content to settle for a point apiece, with the Scottish international scoring several important goals over the course of this season.

United’s victory has kept their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League very much alive, with Ten Hag’s side now within five points of Villa and six of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

Ten Hag was thrilled with his team’s ability to fight back after conceding the equaliser, telling Sky Sports: “It’s massive. It’s a massive win for us.

“We’ve got closer and that was the aim for today. It was absolutely our target and we did it.

“I think also the way we did it, I liked it. Of course, I liked especially the first 20 minutes when we were dictating the game.

“After, I think we were dropping a little bit too much. We had our moments in the counter attacks, but to fight back from 1-1 [makes us] really happy for today.”

The United manager explained his decision to bring on McTominay stemmed from his desire for more control in the second half, claiming the game was “too much of a tennis match” for his liking.

He said: “In that moment, you always have to see how game progresses and I think it was really high intensity. You could see how many players was so fatigued by the end. It was so open it could [have gone] two ways.

“I think we found the mentality – the character – to win this game. The subs had an impact.

“Scott is great, he can score many goals and he’s always coming into positions to score goals.

“We had our problems: I think it was too much of a tennis match; we didn’t make the right decisions in the counter attacks; for every attack, we went for goal instead of waiting for the [right] moment and making the right decisions.

We thought to put Bruno [Fernandes] on the right to do the role of [Alejandro] Garnacho – defending but also offensive, coming inside – and Scott McTominay, he will be in the box. And he’s able to score goals, as we have seen.

“With Bruno, you get more of a midfielder and offensive [threat].

“I understand. The players see the spaces to go for goal in such moments because they are offensive, they want to score goals.

“But I think it was better, in certain situations, to keep the ball, let the opponent run, drag them out [of position] and then it will open up.

“That was more the idea, to bring an extra midfielder there – but with Scott, you have a player who can score a goal.”

With United unbeaten in their last four Premier League fixtures, Ten Hag feels his team are now building momentum in the race for a top-four finish.

He added: “I never think in negative scenarios. I’m thinking positive.

“We know we have to catch up, but we are not there yet and still we have to catch up.

“But we are in a good mood and we have to keep this process going. We still have to improve, so there’s much space for improvement.

“So if we do this, there are many games to play so we will see what happens.”