Game #4497
Aston Villa
Monday, 15 December 1997
Lost
12th= (-)
Last 5: 🟥 🟥 🟩 🟩 🟥
Premier League
Attendance: 55,175
Manchester United
Old Trafford
Villa lose for the second time in three Premier League games to leave them with three wins in twelve as they are narrowly defeated at Old Trafford.
Manchester United
1-0
Aston Villa
Assist(s) | None
KEY MAN
Ugo Ehiogu, pushed by Cole but no pen.
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NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
Monday, 15 December 1997
🕒 | HT Manchester United 0-0 Aston Villa
🥅 | 52’ Goal, 0-1, (Manchester United), Ryan Giggs
🔁 | 70’ Sub off, Simon Grayson, Sub on, Julian Joachim
🔁 | 70’ Sub off, Savo Milošević, Sub on, Lee Hendrie
🕒 | FT Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa
🟨 | Booking, Savo Milošević
🟨 | Booking, Simon Grayson
ON THIS DAY
Future Villa goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and future Villa centre back Ronny Johnsen lined up for Manchester United as more soft refereeing - this time Paul Durkin - hands the advantage to the opposition.
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1995-96
Manchester United
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆
Last Trophy: 1996-97
FIXTURE HISTORY
Manchester United
Previous 5 vs. United: 🟥 🟩 🟨 🟨 🟨
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1997-98 |
Matchday | #25 |
League Game | #18 |
Manager Game | #151 |
Monday, 15 December 1997
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Brian Little | 🏴 | Peterlee, 1994-1998
Referee: Paul Durkin | 🏴 | Dorset, 1987-2004
Kick off: 8.00pm
HT Score: 🟨 0-0
FT Score: 🟥 0-1
FT Result: 🟥 Lost
Last 5: 🟥 🟥 🟩 🟩 🟥
MANAGERIAL RECORD
Brian Little | 🏴 |
GAMES | WINS | DRAWS | LOSSES | POINTS PER GAME
🕒 151 | 🟩 | 65 🟨 | 41 🟥 45 | 1.56
Career Form:
Brian Little | 🏴 |
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Paul Durkin | 🏴 | Dorset, 1987-2004 🆘
Previous 5: 🟥 🟩 🟨 🟩 🟨
Last Match: 🟨 26 October 1997, Villa 0-0 Arsenal, Highbury.
Cards: 🟨 🟨 🟨
Paul Durkin
CARDS
Villa
🟨 🟨
Manchester United
🟨
TEAM NEWS
Michael Oakes replaces Mark Bosnich.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 26.85 |
Oldest Player
M Ian Taylor | 🏴 | 29.55 |
Youngest Player
GK Michael Oakes | 🏴 | 24.14 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Brian Little | 🏴 |
Alex Ferguson | 🏴 |
Aston Villa
GK Michael Oakes | 🏴 |
RB Gary Charles | 🏴 |
RB Simon Grayson | 🏴 | 🟨 | 🔁 |
CB Gareth Southgate | 🏴 |
CB Ugo Ehiogu | 🏴 |
LB Steve Staunton | 🇮🇪 |
LB Alan Wright | 🏴 |
M Ian Taylor | 🏴 |
M Mark Draper | 🏴 |
CF Savo Milošević | 🇷🇸 | 🟨 | 🔁 |
CF Stan Collymore | 🏴 |
Manchester United
GK Peter Schmeichel | 🇩🇰 |
RB Gary Neville | 🏴 |
CB Ronny Johnsen | 🇳🇴 |
CB Gary Pallister | 🏴 |
RB Phil Neville | 🏴 |
M Nicky Butt | 🏴 |
W David Beckham | 🏴 |
W Ryan Giggs | 🏴 | ⚽ |
CF Andrew Cole | 🏴 | 🟨 |
CF Teddy Sheringham | 🏴 |
CF Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 🇳🇴 | 🔁 |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | CF Julian Joachim | 🏴 | for RB Simon Grayson | 🏴 | 70’ |
🔁 | M Lee Hendrie | 🏴 | for F Savo Milošević | 🇷🇸 | 70’ |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | CF Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 🇳🇴 | (CF Brian McClair | 🏴 |)
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Matthew Ghent | 🏴 |
RB Fernando Nélson | 🇵🇹 |
CB Riccardo Scimeca | 🏴 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Raimond Van Der Gouw | 🇳🇱 |
RB Henning Berg | 🇳🇴 |
RB John Curtis | 🏴 |
CB David May | 🏴 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 9/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 13/16
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 8/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 11/16
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Not recorded
UNAVAILABLE
Not Recorded
Player Positions:
GK : Goalkeeper
CB, D, B : Centre Back, Defender, Back
FB, LB, RB, WH : Full Back, Left Back, Right Back, Wing Back, Wing Half
M, CH, LH, RH : Midfielder, Centre Half, Left Half, Right Half
W, OL, OR : Winger, Outside Left, Outside Right
F, IF, IL, IR : Forward, Inside Forward, Inside Left, Inside Right, Second Striker, False 9
CF : Centre Forward
Match Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE
PROGRAMME
MATCHDAY QUOTES
"A wonderful finish from Ryan Giggs ensured last night's victory over a stubborn Aston Villa, who must be wondering when Stan Collymore is going to prove his worth."
*The Irish Independent*
Tuesday, 16 December 1997
A YEAR ago Manchester United lay sixth in the table, only dispelling the doubts with an ensuing charge to settle the championship's destiny.
Now, they are four points clear, with a European Cup quarter-final place secured, and seemingly heading inexorably for another title. The three previous matches between the sides failed to produce a goal. However, a wonderful finish from Ryan Giggs ensured last night's victory over a stubborn Aston Villa, who must be wondering when Stan Collymore is going to prove his worth.
Teddy Sheringham's third successive penalty miss did little to remove the gloss from United's victory.
UEFA Cup quarter-finalists Villa, who had won just one of their previous 33 visits to Old Trafford, rarely looked like adding to that total.
United, who had scored 35 goals in their last nine games, deployed their three-pronged strike force of Sheringham, Andy Cole and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as they went in search of more goals.
Villa's steeped defence, underpinning their 5-3-2 formation, proved an obdurate unit in the first half. continually resisting the varying attacks flooding towards them.
United's creative catalyst was invariably David Beckham, the opening period's best player whose range of passing and willingness for constant involvement were a delight to hold.
Strangely, Old Trafford was slow to warm to the show being put on by Beckham. Perhaps it was the plummeting temperatures. Maybe it was the fans' high expectancy levels after so many rampant home matches. More likely it was the nervousness engendered by Villa's confident start, which saw in which Simon Grayson shot wide and Peter Schmeichel brilliantly block lan Taylor's effort, following excellent approach work from Alan Wright and Collymore.
Gradually though, the home support began to respond to the football on view, began to appreciate the distribution of Beckham and the movement of Giggs.
The pressure was building. A breakthrough appeared imminent but United were thwarted by the defensive excellence of Steve Staunton. drawing on all his years of experience to marshal! Villa's back five.
The champions were camped in the Villa half and Sheringham volleyed home three minutes later, but the assistant referee was already flagging for offside.
Villa, a team increasingly in tune with the rhythms of Europe. showed the expertise that has carried them to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.
Packing defence and breaking quickly, mixing the resilient with the cobra-like, Brian Little's hard-working side kept United's defence on their toes.
Ronny Johnsen, preferred to Henning Berg, needed all his mobility to track Villa's raiders when the visitors enjoyed possession.
A mistake by the United defender allowed Milosevic into the box, where he laid the ball back to Collymore, whose shot was charged down by the alert Gary Neville. The other Neville brother, Phil, came to United's rescue. clearing instinctively after Milosevic had turned Pallister.
Back came United, their energy visible in the puffs of cold air surrounding each of Alex Ferguson's players.
Milosevic was presented with a chance four minutes from the interval, but he sliced wide.
Villa began the second half even more positively and Alan Wright fired over from 20 yards out.
However, United's propensity for scoring in the period immediately following the break, a habit probably related to the content and delivery of Alex Ferguson's interval talks. was witnessed again. Cole. content to play the provider. lifted the ball over Villa's defence for Giggs to run through. As that famous left foot came down. injecting power and placement into the ball, there could only be one outcome. the ball flashing past Oakes. Cue euphoria. It was the first league goal scored in 327 minutes of action between the sides.
Such noisy elation was nearly ended when a subsequent caution for Cole almost proved doubly dangerous when the United striker pushed Ehiogu. Fortunately for Cole, the referee, Paul Durkin, proved lenient.
A bizarre passage of play emerged around the hour-mark. In attempting to roll the ball out. Schmeichel hit the heels of Philip Neville, the ball rebounding to Gareth Southgate, Here was a wonderful opportunity to secure an unlikely equaliser but Southgate, probably startled by possession, shot across goal.
Moments later. Milosevic was adjudged to have handled, so allowing Sheringham the chance to end his spotkick woes. Once again. echoing his failures at Tottenham Hotspur and Derby County this season, Sheringham, in the absence of Denis Irwin. placed his penalty wide.
Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. With thanks to Trinity Mirror. Digitised by Findmypast Newspaper Archive Limited. All rights reserved. Source: British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)