Leon Goretzka celebrating at Old Trafford for Aston Villa
Leon Goretzka celebrating at Old Trafford for Aston Villa
Villa threw away a two-goal lead twice at Old Trafford to settle for a point ahead of the international break.
The Villans go into the break 10th in the Premier League with the result, which should have easily been a win.
Unai Emery's men found themselves two goals up after four minutes thanks to Alysson and Nicolas Jackson, but Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans brought the hosts back level.
A blistering eight minutes in the second 45 saw the visitors regain a two-goal lead thanks to John McGinn and Goretzka, but Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu scored in stoppage time to save Michael Carrick.
Villa had some good individual performances further up the field, as Goretzka is now reaping the rewards from his display.
Troy Deeney hails 'beast' Leon Goretzka after display vs Man United
Aston Villa signed Goretzka for free in the summer after his contract with Bayern Munich expired.
The German international has made eight appearances for the B6 side since joining, but has only just started to feature in Emery's starting eleven due to fitness issues at the start of the season.
The 31-year-old was quick-minded when he followed up on Jackson's miskick to put Villa 4-2 up, which should have been the winning goal.
As per FotMob data, Goretzka had an impressive game, winning a 7.2 rating, as he made five line-breaking passes in total, with an overall pass accuracy of 97 per cent.
He created one big chance, and his only touch in Man United's box was the goal.
He made 42 touches in a 78-minute display, as things went downhill after Emery took the midfielder off the field.
Goretzka also chipped in with three defensive contributions, including an interception and two recoveries.
Troy Deeney was impressed with Goretzka's performance and picked him in his Team of the Week for BBC Sport. Given those statistics, it's clear to see why.
The ex-Watford striker wrote: "Although it was 4-4 in the end at Man Utd, Goretzka was a beast. He was calm under pressure and moved the ball really well as well.
"He obviously got a goal, but his passing, movement and the ability to just be calm and handle every situation presented to him were really, really good."
What Goretzka's performance means for Joao Gomes
Goretzka has been fighting to gain full fitness for Villa in recent weeks, and only made his first start in the 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Bournemouth at the end of October.
He came in for Joao Gomes after the latter started in the 3-0 Champions League defeat to Barcelona last Tuesday.
Gomes had a poor game, but not for the first time this season
Goretzka has experience and composure that Gomes does not, and if he keeps this up, the latter will find it hard to break back into the team.