Aston Villa 1 Manchester United 1
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| Darius Vassell (No 22) puts Villa ahead early in the first half (© Allsport) |
An Alpay own goal in injury time gave Manchester United a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa this afternoon.
The Turkish international defender put through his own goal under pressure from United defender Ronny Johnsen after a Ryan Giggs corner, to the fury of goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who was playing against his former club for the first time since joining Villa.
Watching England coach Sven Goran Eriksson, whose team have a World Cup qualifier against Germany next weekend, saw David Beckham limp off with an apparent groin strain after 70 minutes.
Villa scored their goal with less than four minutes on the clock, when Darius Vassell took full advantage of Hassan Kachloul's perfectly weighted pass to put a sharp shot past Northern Ireland’s Roy Carroll, making his debut in the United goal in place of the injured Fabien Barthez.
Jaap Stam, who looks set to join Italian club Lazio for Stg18 million after both clubs agreed a fee, was left out of the United squad.