‘Should have done better’ – Wes Brown criticises Man Utd star after Aston Villa win

Benjamin Sesko continued his excellent form in front of goal to put Manchester United out of sight in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa – but Wes Brown felt the striker ‘should have done better’ after coming on at Old Trafford.

United had looked on course to drop more points after a setback at Newcastle in their previous contest, with Ross Barkley scoring in the 64th minute to cancel out Casemiro’s headed opening goal.

But the Red Devils dug deep and were rewarded for their efforts as Matheus Cunha cooly slid the ball beyond Emiliano Martinez thanks to a record-breaking second assist from Bruno Fernandes in the 53rd minute.

Sesko put the game to bed with a well-taken finish on the turn after replacing Bryan Mbeumo just six minutes earlier and the hosts held firm to move three points clear of Villa in the Premier League table.

The goal was Sesko’s ninth of the season in the English top flight and his eighth in his last ten appearances for the club.

It’s clear the young Slovenian is relishing his time under Michael Carrick but he could have further increased his tally at the Theatre of Dreams had he not been let down by some wayward finishing late on.

The chance Sesko squandered to further increase the deficit in the 85th minute was especially perplexing, with the 22-year-old seemingly caught between a shot and a cross for Amad Diallo at the back post.

Analysing the game for MUTV shortly after the final whistle, ex-United defender Brown picked out the performances of Fernandes and Casemiro for special praise before turning his attentions to Sesko’s mixed cameo display.

‘Great goals and fantastic from Bruno Fernandes. The vision, the pace of the ball, it’s brilliant,’ Brown said.

‘First of all, obviously the corner, him and Casemiro teaming up again.

‘But the ball to Cunha, he’s just waiting. Mbeumo makes a run first, he leaves it, and then he just fades a little ball for Cunha to run onto it. Beautiful.

‘That man Sesko got his goal. Also, I think should have done better. He had another couple of great chances to score.

‘But they stepped on the gears in the second half, they lifted it a little bit and Aston Villa simply couldn’t handle it. They were too quick and decisive for them.’

Casemiro’s return to form under Carrick has prompted calls from fans and pundits alike for the veteran midfielder to continue his spell at Old Trafford beyond the end of the season.

It comes after the Brazil international announced that this season would be his last with the club back in January.

‘Listen, you can see where his heart is and obviously he’s a true professional,’ Brown – a five-time Premier League winner with United – said of Casemiro.

‘You can actually say to him now, “You can chill a little bit, Casemiro, you’ve done everything you can in the game”, but no, he still wants to do the best he can, he wants to try and help the lads.

‘Even if he has a bad game, he’s got the experience to not let it bother him and he can simply sort that out in the next game.

‘He’s been driving us on again this year and with Kobbie Mainoo coming back the last few months, they’ve made a great little partnership, good understanding.

‘When you’re playing with someone like that, who has that stature on the pitch, the confidence will just ooze through you.’

Brown called on United to continue taking it one game as a time in their fight for Champions League qualification, with just eight matches remaining of the campaign.

‘The table does look nice and I think the goal difference does make a difference this season because it’s so tight,’ he went on.

‘But you’ve just got to look at winning the next game and see what Manchester City do. Everything below you is blow you, we can only control our destiny.

‘The results are what we’re looking for… I know we’ve got to play Liverpool still but there’s some games still to go for other teams.

‘Michael has got us in a good position and now it is about us trying to drive on and try to get even more points.’

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