Aston Villa 0-1 Manchester United: Five Talking Points

Adnan Januzaj marked his first start for Manchester United in six months with the games only goal as the Red Devils won their opening two games of a season for the first time since 2011. Although it was far from a vintage display, Louis Van Gaal sides kept their second-straight clean sheet and go top of the table for the first time since the start of the 2013-14 season.All of that was possible thanks to the Belgians first-half goal that was calmly taken following Juan Matas through ball from the inside the left flank. For Tim Sherwood and Aston Villa, it was a game from which there was little to praise, aside from their commitment and effort.Here are the major talking points from the game.

#1 Not a Friday night delight

The game lacked chances

This was the first of 10 Friday night games in the Barclays Premier League this season and after a thoroughly forgettable game, opinions are still split about the decision to play games on Fridays. While Louis Van Gaal was quick to add that “Friday is the best night to play” and Mata was also happy about the prospect of having the entire weekend to watch football, Aston Villa captain Micah Richards wasn’t so keen.

Irrespective of whether the fans take to games on Friday nights or not, one thing that will always help is some good football. Unfortunately for those who turned up at Villa Park, they were treated to two sides who struggled to create too many meaningful chances and were intent on giving the ball away.

Goalmouth action was minimal and aside from the goal, there was only two further shots on target in the entire game. If the league was looking for an instant classic to kick off the first Friday game of the season, they were left utterly disappointed.