Man Utd recover to beat Aston Villa, Liverpool go top on Boxing Day

Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund ended Manchester United's goalless losing streak of four games in a row with a stunning comeback to beat high-flying Aston Villa 3-2 at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Aston Villa looked like they were about to level with leaders Liverpool on points with early goals from John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker. McGinn put Villa ahead in the 21st minute from a long free kick that sailed past several players and into the bottom left corner. Dendoncker doubled their lead five minutes later from close range when an unmarked Clement Lenglet headed a corner kick back across goal.

"The atmosphere changed a lot from the first half to the second," says United manager Erik ten Hag in an interview with Amazon Prime. "But if you look at the first half you are losing because of two set plays, in moments where we were not so focused. I think already in the first half we played quite well, and kept trying and trying," he added. 

Garnacho netted his first in the 59th minute with a fierce shot from the center of the box. He then equalized for the hosts in the 71st after a give-and-go with Bruno Fernandes before Hojlund ended his goal drought in the Premier League.

"It is a great feeling. We are Manchester United. We were two-nil down, but we never give up, and it was a great comeback from the team," Garnacho said.

"It has been a while (waiting), but yes I am very happy. I am the happiest man alive right now," Hojlund told Amazon Prime. "You can see from the celebrations as well. We believed in ourselves until the very end and got the win today."

Elsewhere, Liverpool moved back to the top of the table with a 2-0 victory at struggling Burnley as Boxing Day once again proved to the liking of Juergen Klopp's side. There was little festive joy for Newcastle United though as they suffered a surprise 3-1 home defeat by Nottingham Forest for whom Chris Wood scored a hat-trick. Luton Town won the day's big relegation battle – beating Sheffield United 3-2 thanks to two own goals, while form-team Bournemouth won again to reach the top half of the table.

(With input from Reuters)