What Unai Emery told Aston Villa's players after Manchester United comeback at Old Trafford

Centre-back Clement Lenglet admitted that Aston Villa manager Unai Emery reminded his players of the standard of the Premier League after their 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Boxing Day evening.

Leading 2-0 at the half-time interval, Villa crumbled in the second half, conceding three goals to hand United what was, for a time, an unlikely-looking victory. Two goals from Alejandro Garnacho and a first in the Premier League for Rasmus Hojlund sealed an impressive come-from-behind victory for the Reds.

Garnacho's first goal of the evening brought United's goal-drought, which had surpassed the seven-hour mark, to an end, though they were assisted by Villa's decision to maintain a high defensive line. The visitors opted against trying to defend their two-goal lead, handing United the chance to regularly get in behind their defence.

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United tend to to be able to hurt teams when they have spaces to exploit, and that was exactly what happened. Villa, who were level on points with table-toppers Liverpool at half-time, got their approach wrong in the second half, and that was what Lenglet hinted at when he offered an insight into what Emery told his players following the full-time whistle.

"I'm not sure if we were too comfortable, but I think we started to play more behind," said Lenglet. "We needed to be more organised and we could have done better.

"The manager said after the game that this is a reminder that [the] level in the Premier League is really high. You know when you come to a place like Manchester United it will be really tough.

"When you lead 2-0 you should