Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Manchester United have 'no excuses' for another semi-final failure ahead of City League Cup clash

Last season saw the Red Devils complete an unwanted treble of last-four losses

MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea, 8 - Saved from McGinn in the first half as well as a superb stop from Watkins. No chance for Villa’s equaliser. Kept on his toes all night and was up to challenge, including after 93 minutes from Cash. EPA

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 7 - Effective work on right, including for the goal as he crossed for Martial after he overlapped. Doesn’t do this enough and that was his first assist of the season. At fault for free kick before Villa equaliser, but one of his best performances of the season. EPA

Eric Bailly, 8 - First time starting four in a row in nearly four years and another decent performance against a physically strong Villa team with the third best away record in the league. Booked for a silly challenge, but vital late block as United held on. EPA

Harry Maguire, 7 - Solid. Booked bringing down Grealish and kept busy against the threats from Mings, Watkins et al. Tough night for him, but ready to intercept and tackle, even when near halfway line towards end. AP

Luke Shaw, 8 - Missed header which allowed first serious Villa attack. Continued to drive forward and get in behind Villa defenders, especially towards the end, but had to be careful with Matty Cash crossing. Reuters

Fred, 7 - Lively start and set up after Pogba left ball to shoot over after 16. Energy vital for United, his recoveries too. Faded a little in second half. AP

Scott McTominay, 6 - Job to mark Grealish and not at the same level as he was in his previous game at Old Trafford against Leeds. First player to come off. Getty

Paul Pogba, 8 - Could have shot after 16 minutes but left ball for Fred. Heavily involved in United’s attacking play including the opening goal, with delightful passes, hold up play and key forward passes – despite being battered by Mings’ arm. Won penalty. Fitter, faster, more productive. Reuters

Bruno Fernandes, 7 - Shot wide after being set up by Shaw early on. Scored another penalty – the match winner – to keep up reliable spot kick record. Incredible strike forced save after 76 minutes. Not happy to come off. Reuters

Marcus Rashford, 7 - Ran at defenders and pushed for a second which didn’t come from him. Can frustrate fans as he dips in and out of games, but opponents hate playing against him and he’s always a threat. EPA

Anthony Martial, 7 - First shot on target in sharp start. Bravely headed second league goal of season before half time – a key goal – and his first from open play of the season. If United are to be genuine title contenders, Martial needs to improve. Reuters

SUBS: Nemanja Matic, 6 - On for Scott McTominay after 64 minutes and took down Villa’s danger, Jack Grealish. Reuters

Daniel James, N/A - On for Fernandes after 86 minutes to stem the threat from Matty Cash and give energy. Axel Tuanzebe, N/A - On for Fred against his former club. EPA

ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez, 7 - Could not make it five clean sheets in his last six appearances for Aston Villa when he guessed wrong prior to Anthony Martial’s close range first-half header. Little he could have done about Fernandes’ superbly taken penalty when United quickly re-established their lead. Otherwise made a handful of eye-catching saves to restrict the hosts to two. EPA

Matty Cash, 7 - Villa struggled to settle into the game initially, but when they did eventually spark into life it was largely thanks to the strong positional play of players down the right. Cash was no exception, executing a number of fine overlapping runs and delivering pin accurate crosses that went without reward. Getty

Ezri Konsa, 6 - There is an argument that Konsa was too busy watching Martial’s movement rather than the ball in the build up to United’s first goal – it led to the home striker finding the appropriate space to open the scoring with a well-placed header. Passed the ball around the back four well. Not a poor performance but will enjoy better games. EPA

Tyrone Mings, 6 - Great commitment by putting his body on the line more than once to block United’s attempts to open the scoring. Mings was, however, at fault when he couldn’t quite reach Wan Bissaka’s low cross from the left that was deflected in by Martial. AP

Matt Targett, 6 - Nowhere to be seen when Wan-Bissaka was allowed to sprint down the right wing before delivering a cross to Martial that was expertly converted. Improved in the second half which prompted United to focus the attention of their attacking play down the left, but he will ultimately be disappointed by his performance in the build up to the hosts’ first goal. AP

John McGinn, 7 - A typically busy game for the Scot whose efforts warranted a point to add to Villa fans’ hopes of a European football return next season. Made a nuisance of himself amid his forward runs and was unfortunate not to score a first goal in 18 appearances when a well-timed volley was batted away by De Gea. AFP

Douglas Luiz, 6 - Unfortunate to concede a soft penalty shortly after Traore equalised at the start of the second half. That one incident should not shadow a reasonably solid performance, though. Was consistent with his passing and ensured the receiver was well-placed to take play forward – sparking opportunities for the visitors. AFP

Bertrand Traore, 8 - A woeful free kick from a dangerous position just outside United’s penalty area was forgotten momentarily by Villa boss Dean Smith when Traore superbly controlled Grealish’s’ inviting cross to equalise shortly into the second half. Strong play positionally and always proved a nuisance when cutting inside from the right. AP

Jack Grealish, 7 - Against a club that has made no secret of their admiration for him, Grealish delivered a typical all-action performance epitomised when he provided Traore with an inswinging cross from the left to bring Villa level early in the second half. Created good space for himself and those around him. EPA

Anwar El Ghazi, 6 - Squandered the opportunity to become the first Aston Villa player to score in four successive Premier League fixtures in eight years. El Ghazi had his moments with his best chance occurring in the 71st minute when Traore’s determination paved the way for the versatile midfielder to test De Gea from 18 yards. EPA

Ollie Watkins, 6 - Watkins’ run of games without a goal stretched to eight. Best opportunity to find the net was well saved by De Gea when a goal-bound header was superbly tipped over. AP

SUBS: Jacob Ramsey, N/A - Came on for goalscorer Traore in the closing 10 minutes. Couldn’t make the impact required as Villa left Old Trafford empty handed. EPA

Keenan Davis, N/A - Made a quick impact when heading Cash’s fine cross just wide of De Gea’s far post. Reuters

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said Manchester United have “no excuses” for failure as they look to change his losing record in semi-finals.

United host Manchester City on Wednesday in a repeat of last season’s League Cup last-four clash, albeit with the difference that it is only a one-legged tie now.

But United made the wrong sort of history as they became the first team to lose a FA Cup, League Cup and European semi-final in the same season.

Now Solskjaer has urged his side to take the next step and win the first trophy of his reign, which he feels would lead to more silverware.

He said: “We’re confident and going into the game in good form. There are no excuses. We’ve developed a lot in the last 12 months since the last semi in the Carabao Cup.

"It’s not just learning to win semis, we've also earned the right to feel we can go all the way with our performances. For this team getting our hands on a trophy would be a very big step. You play football to win and to get your hands on trophies. It gives you the hunger to get more.”

Besides City, United were beaten by Chelsea in the last four of the FA Cup and then Sevilla in the Europa League but Solskjaer feels his side have progressed since then.

“When you get to a semi you've done a lot of good work to get there and you play better opposition,” he said. “We've improved immensely in a year since the last semi and even from when we were in Europe in August.”

Solskjaer hopes the fixture list will give his side an added advantage. Whereas City faced Chelsea on Sunday, United beat Aston Villa on Friday.

“Hopefully, we have got more fresh legs,” he said. While City are expected to be without six players who tested positive for coronavirus, United’s only absentees are the injured Phil Jones and the suspended Edinson Cavani.

They drew 0-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League in December, a match when neither team showed much adventure. "The last game didn't have the X-factor, maybe because they were set up to counter-attack as well," Solskjaer said.

However, City were dominant in last January’s League Cup semi-final when they went 3-0 up in 38 minutes, in effect booking their passage to Wembley then. City played without a specialist striker then and Pep Guardiola revived his tactic of using a false nine to great effect at Stamford Bridge.

“You never know what kind of system he is going to come up with, but you've got to defend really well against City,” Solskjaer reflected. “City weren’t as possession-based against Chelsea, they were more counter-attacking. We’ve got to be aware of that as well as the possession game.”

But much of United’s threat can come from the counter-attack and it helped them beat City three times last season. Solskjaer added: “Away in the league, when we could have scored four or five in a 10- or 15-minute period, our counter-attacks were out of this world.’

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Chelsea 1 Manchester City 3: player ratings