Bertrand Traore’s goal not enough as Aston Villa lose to Manchester United

Bertrand Traore was on the scoresheet in Aston Villa’s 3-1 loss against Manchester United in Sunday’s Premier League game.

The 25-year-old has been a consistent performer for the Claret and Blue Army since joining the side last summer from French club Lyon.

Traore was handed his 25th Premier League appearance at Villa Park and made the most of the opportunity to increase his tally.

The forward’s effort was, however, not enough to help his side continue in their winning ways after securing a victory over Everton in their last league outing.

Aston Villa raced into the lead in the 24th minute of the encounter, when Traore fired a fine effort into the back of the net, leaving goalkeeper Dean Henderson with no chance.

The Red Devils made efforts to try and level proceedings before the half-time break but could not break the defence of the Claret and Blue Army.

After the restart, Aston Villa struggled to hold on to their lead much longer and conceded in the 52nd minute when Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot after Douglas Luiz tripped Paul Pogba in the area.

Four minutes later, Mason Greenwood handed United the lead for the first time in the game after receiving a fine assist from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

With three minutes left before the end of the game, second-half substitute Edinson Cavani sealed the victory for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men after benefitting from Marcus Rashford’s assist.

Traore featured for the duration of the game and besides his goal, the forward struck four shots and had 48 touches on the ball.

Ivory Coast international Eric Bailly was a 78th-minute substitute for Manchester United and made two clearances as part of his contribution.

With the result, Aston Villa dropped to the 11th spot on the Premier League table with 48 points from 33 games.

The Red Devils, meanwhile, maintained their second spot on the table after gathering 67 points from the same number of matches.

Traore will hope to help Villa return to winning ways when they take on Everton in their next league game on May 13.