Late comeback can't stop that sinking feeling

Manchester United did it again.

Two goals down inside the opening four minutes against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday and trailing 4-2 going into second-half added time, United rallied to a 4-4 draw on another night of mayhem and drama at Old Trafford.

Substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu sparked a celebration inside the iconic stadium with their late rescue act, after fans had been in mutinous mood, staging more protests against the club's owners.

Whether it has sufficiently eased the pressure on coach Michael Carrick, following last week's comeback win against Roma in the Champions League, remains to be seen.

The 20-time English champion still goes into the international break 18th in the standings — in the relegation zone — with just one win from 10 games.

United's winless run in the league was extended to eight.

Results over the weekend saw United drop into the bottom three, the first time it's done so after the month of August in 40 years.

"We're in November," Carrick told Sky Sports.

"I don't like the situation where we are, I don't like the results that we've had, but we can definitely do something about it."

The former United midfielder dismissed any suggestion he could resign if it was in the best interests of the club and said he would not seek out discussions with his superiors on where his future lies.

"That's not going to happen," said Carrick.

"I'm quite clear what direction the club needs to go in — we've just got to win games."

The 45-year-old added: "I'm pretty clear where we need to go and how we need to get there. As a normal international week is, we'll have some training, we'll have one or two days off, not too much, but we'll train and get ready for the next game."

Determined to fight on

Despite another rousing home-ground fightback, Carrick's position remains uncertain, with United still searching for a first league win since Aug 30.

Afterward, he defiantly insisted he would not walk away despite such a troubled campaign, which was already the club's worst start since the 1986-87 season.

"We understand the situation," he said.

"We haven't won enough games, but I expect to move forward and keep working on the things that we've been working on — and showing a lot of good in the game today — tighten up on a few mistakes and win football matches."

After going 2-0 down against Roma inside 17 minutes on Nov 3, United conceded twice in the first four minutes against Villa, with Alysson scoring in the first minute and Nicolas Jackson finding the target in the fourth.

Once again, there was a response — Bruno Fernandes scoring from the penalty spot 12 minutes later and Youri Tielemans leveling things up before the break.

It didn't take long for Villa to reassert its dominance in the second half, with John McGinn converting a 48th-minute penalty and Leon Goretzka adding a fourth goal just five minutes later.

United looked to be headed for its fifth league defeat until Zirkzee converted inside the box on 92 minutes and Dorgu headed in from a corner in the sixth minute of added time.

"I don't feel happy. We are in a bad situation and we need to fight together to get out of it," Dorgu said. "Everyone needs to look at themselves and ask themselves if they are good enough. We need to fight for the coach and the club."

International break

Television cameras repeatedly focused on United chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox as United looked to be on the verge of another defeat.

They will be under scrutiny during the two-week international break, which has often been a time when clubs make coaching changes.

United's hierarchy opted to give the popular Carrick — a serial title winner as a player with United — the chance to repair the damage of a ruinous start.

Even after salvaging a late draw, there is still likely to be speculation about his position before United next plays against fierce rival Liverpool on Nov 22.

Seagulls soar into second

High-flying Brighton moved up to second in the Premier League table with a 2-0 win against Brentford.

The Seagulls' outstanding start to the campaign continued with a seventh win from 10 games, leaving it five points adrift of leader and defending champion Arsenal.

Goals from Diego Gomez and Pascal Gross secured victory at the Amex Stadium for Fabian Hurzeler's team, which is becoming the surprise story of the season.

Liverpool got back to winning ways, beating Crystal Palace 3-1.

Andoni Iraola's men bounced back from back-to-back losses to Arsenal in the league and Fenerbahce in the Champions League to pick up three points at Palace.

Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak were all on target at Selhurst Park. A stoppage-time penalty from Eddie Nketiah reduced the deficit, but did little to ease the pressure on Palace coach Pierre Sage, with his team bottom of the standings heading into the international break.

Isak now has eight goals across all competitions for the Reds this season and it was a much-needed success for Liverpool manager Iraola, who had started to hear some awkward questions about Liverpool's inconsistent run in his first season in charge since arriving from Bournemouth to replace the sacked Arne Slot.

"It is now, more or less, one quarter of the season. It's clear we still have room to improve. We need to become a better team," Iraola said.

"But, I think now, especially away from home, we have been very, very solid.

"You (can) see yourself, (we are) in a better place, but we know we still need to improve."

Meanwhile, Chelsea fell to a surprise 1-0 defeat to relegation-fighting Sunderland.