Manchester United pulled off a dramatic late comeback to earn a 4-4 draw against Aston Villa in front of their angry home fans amid a torrid time at the Premier League club.
United conceded two goals within the first four minutes of the high-stakes fixture at Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday, but fought back with two stoppage-time goals and shared the spoils.
The 13-time Premier League champions remain in the relegation zone in the Premier League table, sitting in 18th place with eight points from 10 games. But their manager Michael Carrick will breathe a sigh of relief after avoiding a fifth loss and will again hope to avoid getting sacked.
Carrick was seconds away from heading into the international break on the back of another devastating defeat that would surely have led to his dismissal.
But United struck twice in the six minutes of additional time through Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu to leave their manager’s future open to question.
He had earned a stay of execution when United’s hierarchy allowed him to remain in charge despite last weekend’s loss at Chelsea.
United responded by ending a nine-match winless run in all competitions as they came from two goals down to beat Roma 3-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
But Man United, who have only three wins in 15 games this season, were back in turmoil when they quickly went 2-0 down.
Alysson struck in the first minute with a shot that squirmed under keeper Senne Lammens.
Nicolas Jackson slotted in the second three minutes later after a weak save from Lammens pushed the ball into his path.
Bruno Fernandes got one back with a 16th-minute penalty after Boubacar Kamara fouled Matheus Cunha, before former Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans slammed in United’s 44th-minute equaliser.
Villa’s John McGinn converted a 48th-minute penalty following Diogo Dalot’s clumsy challenge on Alysson.
Leon Goretzka poked in Villa’s fourth from close-range after United’s Leny Yoro headed against his own crossbar in the 53rd minute.
Yet Zirkzee’s stoppage-time finish gave United hope and Dorgu headed their dramatic equaliser in the final seconds after a weak punch from Villa keeper Zion Suzuki.
Carrick wore a bewildered look on his face as he walked down the tunnel with United next in action at Liverpool on November 22.
Chelsea arrived at the Stadium of Light hoping to bolster their bid to qualify for the Champions League via a top-four finish.
Instead, they departed red-faced after an embarrassing loss to third-bottom Sunderland, who celebrated a league victory for only the second time this season.
Fifth-placed Chelsea have already been beaten four times in 10 league matches under former Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso.
Chelsea were rocked in the 36th minute when Enzo Le Fee converted a penalty after Brian Brobbey was up-ended by Levi Colwill.
“We were not creating enough chances in the final third against the low block. We were not controlling and sustaining the attack there,” Alonso said.
Liverpool got back on track with a 3-1 win at lowly Crystal Palace.
The Reds had been beaten by Arsenal and Fenerbahce before arriving in south London, prompting pointed questions about Andoni Iraola in the former Bournemouth manager’s first season in charge.
But Alexis Mac Allister headed Liverpool in front from Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross after 40 minutes.
Florian Wirtz bagged Liverpool’s second with a composed finish from Bradley Barcola’s cross in the 54th minute.
Alexander Isak finished off Wirtz’s pass in the 89th minute to wrap up fourth-placed Liverpool’s much-needed victory after a two-game losing streak.
“It was an important win for us going into the international break after the week we’ve had,” Iraola said.
Eddie Nketiah’s stoppage-time penalty after a foul by Milos Kerkez was no consolation for Palace.
