After thousands of Manchester United fans marched on Old Trafford demanding a “100% sale” of the club, their players did the best kind of business on the pitch, ending Aston Villa’s 10-game unbeaten sequence, and tightening the hold on fourth place in the Champions League qualification chase.
If supporters are unhappy about Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid to buy just over 50% of United and him being open to one or more of the Glazer siblings retaining a stake, all Erik ten Hag can do is keep the team on the upward curve marked “improvement”.
This is precisely what the manager executed against a dangerous opponent who had been on the rise since Unai Emery became their No 1 in October, Bruno Fernandes’s first-half pivot and finish taking all three points.
Ten Hag, then, could be content at a day’s work that featured United pinging the ball about and around Villa at an express pace for most of an invigorating contest.