By OUR REPORTER at Villa Park
VILLA PARK was a bear pit. It was a cauldron of claret and blue that swallowed Manchester United whole and spat them back out onto the M6 with their tails between their legs.
In a stadium that feels less like a football ground and more like a gladiatorial arena these days, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa marched to their tenth consecutive win in all competitions with a 2-1 victory that cemented the “Fortress Villa Park” tag.
While Manchester United arrived with a decent record in the West Midlands, they found a different beast awaiting them under the famous floodlights.
From the Holte End’s deafening “Hi Ho Aston Villa” to the relentless energy of the Trinity Road stand, the atmosphere didn’t just support the home side—it suffocated the visitors.
The man of the hour was Morgan Rogers, who treated the Villa Park faithful to two goals of such shimmering quality they belonged in a gallery.
His first came just before the interval, a curling beauty that left United keeper Senne Lammens clawing at thin air.
The Holte End erupted, the old stadium literally shaking as Rogers wheeled away in triumph. United, to their credit, didn’t fold immediately.
They struck back in first-half stoppage time when Matheus Cunha pounced on a rare Matty Cash error to silence the home crowd—if only for a moment.
But the second half belonged to the spirit of B6. With United captain Bruno Fernandes forced off with a hamstring injury at the break, the momentum shifted back to the hosts. In the 57th minute, Rogers did it again.
Pouncing on a loose ball and showing more hunger than Leny Yoro, he rifled home his second to restore the lead. It was a goal born of the sheer intensity that Emery has instilled in this ground; a belief that at Villa Park, no ball is a lost cause.
Ruben Amorim threw everything at the game, even handing a debut to teenager Jack Fletcher—son of United legend Darren—but the Villa defensive wall, marshaled by Emi Martinez, held firm.
As the final whistle blew, the roar that went up from the 42,000-strong crowd was one of a club that no longer just hopes to win—they expect to. Villa now sit just three points off the top of the table, and on this evidence, anyone coming to Villa Park in 2026 better bring a helmet.
