Coutinho’s comeback halts Man United progress under Rangnick as excitement builds at Aston Villa

BIRMINGHAM, England — Manchester United are in a run of form so shaky that even when things are going well there’s always a chance it might end badly, and despite controlling much of the game against Aston Villa, they still left disappointed. From 2-0 up with 13 minutes to go at Villa Park, Ralf Rangnick’s team managed to concede twice in five minutes, and by the end were left asking referee David Coote to call time on the 2-2 draw.

For the travelling United fans, it was made worse by watching Villa’s comeback orchestrated by former Liverpool man Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian’s loan move from Barcelona was only confirmed on Wednesday, but in the 22 minutes he was on the pitch here, he scored one and made one to make himself an instant Villa hero.

He walked down the tunnel to chants of “Philippe Coutinho” before the home fans turned on United, singing “2-0, and you messed it up” — except they didn’t use “messed.” Either way, it was a fair assessment.

– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access

“It’s difficult to speak about positives,” admitted Rangnick afterwards. “The first half hour we dominated the ball, we didn’t concede one single shot on our goal, but it’s about playing in that way and as compact as we did in the first half hour but we have to do it in a longer period of time.

“It definitely feels like two lost points, it almost feels like a defeat after being 2-0 up. What we showed was a step forward, but it is about getting the results, it feels like two points lost and given away.”

In a battle with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United to finish fourth this season, United cannot afford to throw away points.

Victory would have moved them to within three points of West Ham — currently fourth — with a game in hand, but instead they remain seventh and looking up at the rest. Even in January, it has the feeling of one of those results that could make Rangnick wince when…