Manchester United booked an FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Middlesbrough as Scott McTominay’s eighth-minute header was enough to beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Old Trafford, Manchester yesterday.
McTominay was allowed to run unchallenged to the edge of the Villa six-yard box, where he met Fred’s perfect cross and steered the ball past goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez.
However, the result was incredibly harsh on Middlesbrough. Twice in a matter of minutes early in the second half they had the ball in Manchester United’s net, but both were ruled out.
The second was a straightforward offside goal against Danny Ings, albeit the flag was not raised until after Ollie Watkins had scored.
However, the first was far more debatable and involved a lengthy wait for the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to ask Michael Oliver to make the final decision by consulting the screen, the referee eventually ruled that Jacob Ramsey was offside and impeded Edinson Cavani in the build-up.
