Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United: Cautious Villans Fail at Villa Park

Aston Villa can consider their 1-1 home draw with Manchester United at Villa Park as two points lost in the race for the fourth UEFA Champions League place.

Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar expertly sent a beautifully accurate header past United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar on 18 minutes to put Villa 1-0 up.

However, the away side levelled the scores to 1-1 just four minutes later when Ryan Giggs placed a wicked cross dangerously into the penalty area, before Villa's James Collins accidentally yet calamitously put the ball past keeper Brad Friedel and into the back of his own net.

In the 29th minute, Manchester United were dealt a potentially killer blow when the recently inspired winger Nani received a straight red card from the referee after a wreckless (yet seemingly legitimate) sliding tackle on Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov.

Villa's opponents were down to ten men, and theoretically should've been disadvantaged for the remainder of the game.

Instead, a significant problem for the hosts' was identified; Aston Villa adopted a ludicrously defensive style of play, and never really looked like scoring the elusive winning goal.

They might've been very strong defensively and most certainly on course for the draw, but a first victory at home to Manchester United in a very long time was simply not on the cards.

Quite often during the encounter, Villa fans saw their beloved players rarely pose a significant attacking threat.

For example, Aston Villa are famed for their mercilessly efficient counter-attacks, and yet at Villa Park on Wednesday, only one or two players bothered to sprint forward and join the attack.

After Richard Dunne or Carlos Cuellar once again nullified the threat of Wayne Rooney or Ryan Giggs and the ball broke loose to someone like James Milner, the only players forward were Gabriel Agbonlahor, John Carew and either Ashley Young or Stewart Downing.

Three players besides the man in possession of the ball is never going to win in an attacking move against six or seven opposition players; one of the main reasons why Aston Villa could not score a winner.

Some of the statistics to emerge from the Carling Cup Final dress rehearsal in Birmingham displayed evidence of Aston Villa's lackluster attempts to find a much needed victory and three important points.

Manchester United 56 percent of the possession, reflecting their strong hold on the game, and more significantly, Villa's failed intention to win.

United also hit two more shots than Villa, and won seven corners compared to a mere one from the home side.

For a team like Aston Villa, who were playing against only ten men of Manchester United with over 60 minutes of the game still to be played, a win and three points would not be an unexpected bonus, but rather a mandatory win.

A point will come in useful for Villa, but with the advantage of an extra player and the invigorating support of a sell-out home crowd, it hurts as a fan of the club to see such lack of ambition.

What separates the best from the rest is that they have the desire to take risks—in this case a relatively small risk—a desire not shown from Aston Villa, thus resulting in a less than positive draw.

If the Villans are serious about this supposed ambition of theirs to become a UEFA Champions League team, then a much less cautious approach should surely be adopted.

One point is still of course very useful, but against only ten men of Manchester United, it should not matter if England talisman Wayne Rooney, the majestic Ryan Giggs, and the creatively fantastic Paul Scholes are on the field, three points should be expected.

Three points should be expected, that is, if this Aston Villa team has any ambition and desire to make into the elite, lucrative and thus far elusive club of the Premier League's "Big Four."