Player ratings as Hojlund's strike initiates Ratcliffe era with victory: Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa

Old Trafford witnessed an ideal start to the Sir Jim Ratcliffe era as Manchester United secured a 3-2 comeback win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Despite an initial weak defence by United, leading to two goals by Villa in the first half, the Red Devils quickly regained their prowess. The turn-around in their performance was on display for INEOS representative Sir Dave Brailsford, who was in the stands.

Post the half-time, Alejandro Garnacho scored twice, ensuring United's comeback. Rasmus Hojlund completed the trio of goals, thus wrapping up an exciting victory.

The initial moments of the game were moderately dominated by Villa. Notably, the premier sight at the goal was by Christian Eriksen approximately ten minutes into the game, which went directly into goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez's hands.

Villa found themselves in the lead 22 minutes into the game owing to an unusual turn of events. A free kick by McGinn led to the ball bouncing off and landing into Andre Onana's net, right through a dense six-yard box.

The second goal by Villa was not too far off. Clement Lenglet, exploiting poor defence during a corner moved, sent the ball across the goal, which was then pushed beyond Onana into the net by Dendoncker. This caused a wave of booing among United's home fans.

Coming back strong, United responded energetically. Marcus Rashford made repeated attempts towards a goal, albeit without testing Villa's goalkeeper ahead of half-time. Despite some defensive failures, Erik ten Hag's team seemingly had the upper hand during the first half.

Three minutes into the second half, United seemingly scored a goal, which was later ruled out by a VAR check due to Garnacho failing to time his run properly. However, Garnacho made up for this by registering a goal soon after, aided by Rashford.

Garnacho scored again twenty minutes later by making good use of a loose ball, supported by Diego Carlos's massive deflection. This was followed by Hojlund's goal, concluding scoring at 1026 minutes, with a smart finish, ultimately leading United to victory.

Among individual performances, Andre Onana struggled with his defence, while Raphael Varane was specifically criticised for his lack of guard during Villa's second goal. Other key performers included Christian Eriksen, Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, and Marcus Rashford.

Rasmus Hojlund came into limelight despite several errors, owing to his goal. Among the substitutes, notable names included Antony (80' for Rashford), Scott McTominay (80' for Mainoo), Willy Kambwala (88' for Hojlund), Dan Gore (90' for Eriksen), and Hannibal Mejbri (90' for Garnacho).

The Villa goal was guarded by Emiliano Martinez, who put up a decent performance. Among Villa's defenders, Ezri Konsa effectively managed defence against Rashford, although he struggled towards the end.