Man Utd lose behind friendly to Aston Villa as Solskjaer fields weakened side

Manchester United were beaten at Old Trafford by Aston Villa just a week out from their Premier League opener.

The Red Devils have been afforded a further week to prepare before they get stuck into competitive action.

But a weakened side were down 1-0 with Villa new boy Ollie Watkins scoring the winner.

The £28m signing, who only joined from Brentford three days ago, beat David de Gea shortly before half-time.

It means Villa have now seen off United and Arsenal, both on the road, ahead of their season opener.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opted to give a host of squad players a chance to impress after saying he would “give players minutes” ahead of next week’s game with Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

Odion Ighalo led the line with Juan Mata, Andreas Pereira and Jesse Lingard the supporting cast.

Scott McTominay and Fred played at the base of the midfield.

The only regular in the back four was Victor Lindelof, although his place could come under threat if United add a central defender before the window shuts.

Brandon Williams, Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot made up the defence.

De Gea reprised his role in goal despite the presence of Dean Henderson, who recently signed a new deal at Old Trafford.

It looks as if the Spaniard has won the battle to be United’s No 1 with Henderson’s opportunities set to come in the cup competitions.

Solskjaer has said that he will continue to search for new recruits having ended last season with plenty of optimism.

He told MUTV: “We’re always looking to improve the squad, scouting players and, if something fits, both the financial bit and the football bit, of course we’ll try to make some business.

“But we can’t know how the markets and how other clubs have been affected either.”