Manchester United is a team without proper midfielder.
They have Bruno, Tominay, De Beek, Fred, Sancho, Rashford, Greenwood and I see Tominay can play as a defensive midfielder. But if a team rely on a defensive midfielder to protect their defense system, it is wrong. Something seriously wrong because one player can not protect a whole defense system. Other players have to contribute to create pressure on opponents and reduce pressure or risk on defense system. Issues with Manchester United are not only in that position but also in their whole system which looks to be very weak, not united and broken.
Man United's game in the first half was actually quite good, and Ronaldo's absence did not have a significant impact at the beginning of the match. Bruno managed to execute passes from his team very well, so Man United took the lead early on. But in the end they played off guard to let Aston Villa equalize. All his teams were lulled by their temporary wins at the start, it's natural for Bruno to be frustrated with the results they should have won if they weren't careless from the defensive side.
The interesting thing after this, it was Westham who were defeated by Leeds in the first round. In their match Leeds were much more aggressive than Westham, but was this really a strategy from the start to let their opponent take the lead first? However, Westham should be superior in terms of their journey so far to reach 4th place. Don't be like Man United who were beaten by a lower team and Westham who are currently against Leeds.