Sesko's late heroics save Manchester United as Aston Villa fall to 10-man Brentford

Benjamin Sesko came to the rescue for Manchester United in an exciting 3-2 victory over Fulham on Sunday, while Aston Villas push for the Premier League title suffered a setback with a loss against Brentford who were down to 10 players.

This marked the third straight win for United under Michael Carrick at Old Trafford, boosting them into the top four ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool.

Following their 3-2 triumph at Arsenal last week, the match echoed Uniteds past glories from Carricks playing era, as they clinched the points in a tense finish despite a strong comeback from Fulham.

Casemiro netted the opener from a Bruno Fernandes free-kick, setting United on course just 19 minutes in.

The Brazilian midfielder then assisted Uniteds second goal, though Matheus Cunha had to work hard before rifling the ball past Bernd Leno into the roof of the net.

Fulhams second loss in their last nine league outings hampered their chances of qualifying for Europe next term.

The away side battled back fiercely, with Raul Jimenez converting a penalty to reduce the arrears five minutes before the end, and Kevins stunning effort seeming to secure a draw.

Yet United countered immediately, as Sesko twisted onto a Fernandes through-ball and fired into the upper corner.

Villas title aspirations dim

Aston Villa aimed to close the gap to four points behind Arsenal at the summit, but their long-shot quest for a first league crown since 1981 stumbled with back-to-back 1-0 defeats on home soil.

Despite Brentfords numerical disadvantage for over half the match, they delivered a major dent to Unai Emerys squad.

Kevin Schade received a red card for lashing out at Matty Cash in the 42nd minute.

However, right before the interval, the visitors struck first as Dango Ouattara smashed home from an acute angle.

Villa bombarded the Brentford defence after the restart but could not find the creativity to penetrate.

Tammy Abraham thought he had scored on his comeback for Villa, only for VAR to rule out the goal due to the ball going out of play earlier in the sequence.

Crystal Palace also squandered their extra man amid concerns of slipping into relegation peril, settling for a 1-1 stalemate at Nottingham Forest.

Morgan Gibbs-White gave Forest the lead early on, but Neco Williams handling the ball on his own goalline moments before the break handed Palace their opportunity.

Ismaila Sarr slotted away the resulting penalty following Williams dismissal.

Still, Palace could not halt their run of 12 matches without a victory, staying three points ahead of Forest and nine above the drop zone.