United's winless streak continues, Chelsea's five-game winning run ends

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will hope a draw at Aston Villa buys him more time at Old Trafford. (Getty Images)

BBC Sport, October 6 — Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will hope a battling draw at Aston Villa will relieve the fierce scrutiny of his position.

The club's co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was in attendance at Villa Park to see United at least show some of the resilience that was missing in the collapse at home to Tottenham and the defensive solidity lacking in Porto in the Europa League.

Ten Hag turned to the veteran duo of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans to add some steel, although he lost the England defender to injury right on half-time.

Marcus Rashford twice tested Villa keeper Emi Martinez while United captain Bruno Fernandes came closest with a second half free-kick that bounced back off the bar at the Holte End. Substitute Antony also forced Martinez into an acrobatic save from long range.

United keeper Andre Onana was relatively untroubled, although he did well to athletically push away a power drive from Villa midfield man Youri Tielemans.

Ten Hag must now hope Ratcliffe and the rest of United's watching hierarchy saw enough to keep faith with the Dutchman, although this draw means they are still five games without a win.

Small mercies for Ten Hag

Manchester United simply had to avoid defeat at Aston Villa to ensure the focus on manager Ten Hag did not become more intense, perhaps to the point where the Old Trafford hierarchy felt it was time for a change.

It was hardly a sparkling performance, indeed for long periods this game was bogged down in a morass of mediocrity, but at least United fought for their manager and actually had the better opportunities to win.

Ten Hag's quest for defensive solidity after shambolic performances against Spurs and Porto saw him turn to 36-year-old Evans and Maguire as his central defensive partnership with Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez dropped.

The pair performed creditably, especially Evans - despite losing Maguire alongside him at the interval.

Villa were kept at arm's length throughout as United showed increased discipline against Unai Emery's side, always formidable at home, as Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich found out in the Champions League.

Ten Hag will be satisfied with what he saw and may feel aggrieved United did not collect more than a point, especially when Fernandes beat Martinez with a fine free-kick, only to see it strike the woodwork.

United's top brass will now have time to take stock in the international break, which they will go into on the back of a decent result before they return to Premier League action against Brentford at Old Trafford.

Chelsea and Nottingham forest play feisty draw

Chris Wood and Noni Madueke scored as Chelsea and Nottingham Forest played out a tactical and feisty draw at Stamford Bridge.

Forest went ahead when 32-year-old striker Wood slid in a finish past Robert Sanchez after a good set-piece routine involving James Ward-Prowse and Nikola Milenkovic in the 49th minute.

But Chelsea responded quickly as Madueke equalised eight minutes later after cutting in on his left foot and shooting, his fourth such effort having had the beating of left-back Alex Moreno.

Midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White came off injured in the second half - putting his chances of contributing with England this month in major doubt as he gingerly walked off the pitch, looking in pain and frustrated.

Referee Chris Kavanagh sent off Forest's Ward-Prowse for deliberately handling the ball to stop a Nicolas Jackson counter-attack in the second half, giving him a second yellow card, having booked him earlier on for a more conventional tactical foul on star man Cole Palmer.

Cole Palmer again looked lively for Chelsea but could not find them a winner. (Getty Images)

Then, Madueke also appeared to go off injured after a melee sparked by Neco Williams, who pushed defender Marc Cucurella into Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea looked to their extensive bench to win the match, bringing on Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk and Pedro Neto to win the game with a man advantage, but Palmer had two chances well saved by Matz Sels and Felix headed an effort wide in stoppage time.

There were two huge efforts saved in the closing minutes.

Williams curling effort for the visitors was saved by Sanchez, before - at the other end - Nkunku's diving header was saved at close range by Sels.

It felt like a close match of two in-form clubs pitting their records against each other, with Chelsea dominant in the latter stages.

The Blues' five-game winning run has ended but they remain unbeaten in the league since the opening match of the season, while Forest are undefeated on the road in six matches, their longest such run since 1995.