Man Utd scrape draw at Villa after going 2-0 down

Manchester United staged a dramatic fightback with two goals in the last nine minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa on Saturday.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s team looked set to suffer their first league defeat since April when Ashley Young’s second half penalty was followed by a Marc Albrighton strike for Villa.

But United substitute Federico Macheda reduced the deficit with a superb strike nine minutes from full-time and Serbia defender Nemanja Vidic dived in to head the equaliser from Nani’s cross four minutes later.

Although United were understandably delighted to escape Villa Park unscathed, Ferguson’s second placed side, who are now three points behind Chelsea, will still be left to count the cost of a sloppy display if the leaders open up a six-point gap by beating Sunderland on Sunday.