Jamie Jackson was our man at Old Trafford. His report has landed, and here it is. Thanks for reading this MBM. Stay safe and warm. Nighty night!

An entertaining game, though, between two works in progress. United didn’t play well but will be pleased with a hard-fought victory that buys Ralf Rangnick a little more time and space to implement his ideas; Villa played impressively but were a little blunt up front, and will harbour some VAR-related grievances, rightly or wrongly. And what’s this? Aston Villa versus Manchester United, 5.30pm in the Premier League this coming Saturday? Oh you’ll join us for that, surely!

A few Villa players drop to the floor. They created plenty of chances, more than enough to force extra time at the very least, and were probably the better team on balance. United did what they had to do, though they rode their luck a little: Ings’ goal was disallowed because Ramsey started in an offside position before coming into contact with Cavani ... but would Cavani have influenced the rest of the move had the pair not clashed? The law in its entirety gives both teams an out, depending on how you fancy looking at it. Good old VAR!

90 min +5: Elanga wins a corner down the left, and though nothing comes of the set piece, the clock is really against Villa now.

90 min +4: A long ball down the middle drops to El Ghazi and Ings. El Ghazi gets there first and romps down the inside-right channel. Ings makes off to the far post, waiting for the cross in acres. It doesn’t come. El Ghazi swipes an ambitious shot into the stand instead.

90 min +3: El Ghazi tries to slip Targett into space down the left. Too much juice on the pass, and it’s a goal kick.

90 min +2: Greenwood glides in from the right and sends another shot straight at Martinez.

90 min +1: Elanga gets the better of Cash down the left but there’s nobody in red in the middle to meet his low fizzing cross.

90 min: Konsa is good to continue. Villa have six extra minutes to throw some Hail Marys and extricate themselves from the pickle they’re in.

89 min: On the BBC, Dion Dublin names the goalscorer Scott McTominay as man of the match.

88 min: As the ball sailed out, Konsa copped one on the nose from Shaw’s trailing arm. No foul, but the physio is required to come on and stem the flow of blood.

87 min: Philogene-Bidace’s first act is to force a corner off Fred down the right. McGinn sends it over everyone and out for a goal kick.

86 min: Villa swap midfielder Ramsey for young winger Philogene-Bidace.

85 min: United make a double change, replacing Rashford and Fernandes with Lingard and Elanga.

83 min: Targett crosses from the left. Ings gently eyebrows the ball towards the right touchline. A good chance, eight yards out, spurned.

81 min: Fred’s persistence down the left earns a corner. Fernandes takes his sweet time before taking it, ostentatiously tying his bootlace, much to the amusement of the home fans. The resulting set piece is no good. The ball’s shuttled back to Dalot, who nearly lets Ings in with a weak backheader. Ings nicks the ball away, but with too much force, the ball sailing through to De Gea.

79 min: Villa make their first change, replacing Buendia with El Ghazi.

78 min: Fernandes and Rashford launch a two on one ... but a huge chance goes begging as the former’s pass to the latter goes nowhere near.

76 min: United have drawn a little of Villa’s sting. The Old Trafford faithful are nevertheless quiet and pensive.

74 min: Greenwood romps into acres down the right, flicked clear on the halfway line by Fernandes. He enters the box and slams straight at Martinez, who fumbles. Rashford is in the environs, but doesn’t really go for the rebound, instead gesticulating at his team-mate for not teeing him up for the tap-in, and the ball is gathered by the keeper at the second attempt.

73 min: Greenwood has a look from 25 yards, but his effort is once again weakly struck. Easy for Martinez.

72 min: Cavani is replaced by Van de Beek, a popular arrival.

71 min: Watkins drops a shoulder just to the right of the United D, and is this close to steering a curler into the bottom left. An inch wide. De Gea probably had it covered, just, but only by the fingertips.

69 min: Dalot slides into the back of Targett, overeager to regain possession, United struggling to retain any. Another booking.

68 min: Ramsey comes in from the left, exchanging a couple of one-twos, his excellent run ended unceremoniously by Shaw, the newest name into the referee’s notebook.

67 min: Cash aims for the top right from distance. De Gea is forced to turn around the post. McGinn to take the corner. Easy for De Gea.

66 min: There are some challenges flying in now. Cavani is crumped, then immediately crumps. All high octane, all legal. So far.

65 min: Luiz drops a shoulder to nip past Fred, whose late lunge earns him a booking. The Villa fans erupt in ironic cheers.

64 min: Konsa dribbles with determination down the inside-left channel and reaches the United box. He slips as he shoots, De Gea gathering at the near post.

63 min: Villa have responded well to multiple disappointments this evening. They’ve been much the better team since the restart.

61 min: Ah, he just - just! - knocked his knee. He didn’t disturb his trouser arrangement. Either way, he’s back up and good to go again.

60 min: In racing back, Lindelof managed to Phil Babb himself on the post. On comes the physio with his magic sponge.

59 min: McGinn dinks Ings clear down the middle. Ings draws De Gea, then chips the keeper. Lindelof is back hoping to clear, but Watkins is on his shoulder and pokes home. Unfortunately for Villa, the flag goes up for offside. Correctly so. Ings went too early.

58 min: There’s a heightened feel to this game now. Members of both teams playing in an agitated style, at high tempo. De Gea nearly bowls a simple throw-out straight to Watkins. Then McGinn busies himself just inside the United box to win a corner, from which Bundeia nearly tees up Ings. De Gea gathers.

56 min: Villa are collectively fuming, and it doesn’t help when Fernandes hangs out a cynical leg to stop McGinn, but isn’t booked. Then upon the restart, McGinn clatters into Fred in the hysterical style. Both Fernandes and McGinn should be in the book, but neither are.

53 min: The VAR dude gets the referee to come over and take a look at the monitor. Now it seems Ramsey blocked Cavani in the build-up.

52 min: In fact, they’re looking to see if the ball brushed Watkins en route to Ings. If it did, the goal will be chalked off. They’re taking a long look at this. Clear and obvious?

51 min: VAR is having a look, though. A possibility that Ings was offside when Konsa knocked the ball across to him.

49 min: Shaw prepares to take a United throw. But it’s Villa’s. McGinn tries to get the ball. Shaw refuses to hand it over. A mild shoving bout erupts. It’s more comical than dangerous, and soon fizzles out.

48 min: Fernandes takes. Watkins heads powerfully clear, but United come back at Villa, Greenwood having a whack from distance. A weak effort dribbles through to Martinez.

47 min: McGinn’s loose ball in the midfield allows Cavani to break. He feeds Fernandes down the left. The resulting cross is poked out for the first corner of the second half by Luiz.

Villa get the second half underway. United, who will host Middlesbrough in the fourth round should things stay the same, will kick towards the Stretford End in this second half. No changes.

Half-time entertainment. An FA Cup special in which supporters of Cambridge United and Sunderland dissect the latest mishap to befall Newcastle.

45 min +3: The answer is nearly no. Rashford is pinged clear down the right by Fernandes. He enters the box and takes a shot. Or is it a cross meant for Greenwood? Not sure. Either way, Cash slides in to clear off the line.

45 min +2: United are finishing the half in the ascendancy, having weathered the Villa storm. They’re pushing Villa back, probing for a second. A two-goal lead would flatter them, mind. But can Villa hang on until the whistle?

45 min +1: Cavani, just inside the Villa box on the left, rolls back for Fernandes, who attempts a pinball flipper into the top left. It sails over the bar.

45 min: There will be three added minutes.

44 min: Free kick for United, 30 yards from goal in a fairly central position. Rashford whacks it witlessly into the wall. Shaw recycles possession out left. His cross is half-cleared and drops to McTominay, who takes a (dare I say?) Gerrardesque swipe at the ball. A fine volley goes straight down Martinez’s throat. What a goal that could have been. What about that McFred, huh?

42 min: Cavani swings a pass wide left for Shaw, then romps into the Villa box, demanding the ball’s return. Shaw complies, but Martinez reads the danger and comes off his line to claim. Fine football all round.

41 min: Watkins, quarterbacking from deep, tries to release Buendia down the middle, but there’s too much on the pass. United were a little light at the back, though, and a better ball would have caused problems.

39 min: Martinez claims the corner, and the pressure on Villa is released.

38 min: Fernandes latches onto a half-clearance and sends a low diagonal drive towards the bottom left. Cash does well to block, a goal-saving intervention, because that was going in and Martinez wasn’t reaching it. United come again, Shaw forcing Martinez to tip his rising shot over the bar. Lovely football all round, and United have woken up after a period of lethargy during which Villa could easily have equalised and then some.

36 min: Buendia dances down the inside-left channel, ball glued to boot. In the end he’s swarmed and dispossessed, but Villa are playing with great confidence here, despite the scoreline.

35 min: The corner, then. Luiz curls to the near post, where Ings eyebrows over the bar. Dalot looks good to continue.

34 min: They’re still attending to Dalot. Incidentally, just after Watkins twanged the bar, Shaw came through the back of McGinn’s standing leg. It was a free kick, nothing more, but McGinn wasn’t happy about the challenge. A contest perhaps worth keeping an eye on.

32 min: Before the corner can be taken, Dalot requires some treatment. He’s shipped a nasty gash to the ankle.

31 min: Now Ramsey’s low shot from the left side of the D deflects off McTominay and inches wide of the left-hand post. United are rocking a little bit here.

30 min: Lucky Lindelof. He takes a really poor touch under a long ball, a backpass gone wildly wrong. The loose ball is snaffled by Watkins, who enters the box, checks inside, and lashes a rising shot off the bar and away.

28 min: Fernandes dribbles at a panicking Villa back line. He slips Cavani into the box on the right. Cavani’s drive is deflected off Mings, and Martinez does extremely well to parry.

27 min: Buendia and Watkins one-two crisply down the middle, the latter aiming for the bottom-left corner. De Gea flops on the slightly weak shot. Villa are making half-chances.

25 min: Greenwood dribbles past a couple of white shirts down the right and enters the box. There’s not quite enough space to get a proper shot away, and he shanks into the stand. Lovely run, though.

23 min: Villa stroke it around the back. United hover with a view to pressing. Stalemate.

21 min: A reminder that this tie has to be decided this evening, after extra time and penalties if necessary.

19 min: McGinn is given an absurd amount of time by all four members of United’s defence to line up a shot from 25 yards. He aims for the top right and De Gea is forced to extend fully to parry. The ball breaks to Ings, whereupon the flag pops up for offside. United’s defenders were asking for trouble there, and would have got it were it not for their keeper.

17 min: McGinn busies himself down the right, a cute run that doesn’t end with the cross it deserves. The ball floats out for a goal kick.

15 min: Rashford storms in from the left and sends a vicious cross-cum-shot goalwards. Cavani not so much meets the cross as gets hit by it, and the ball flies into the stand at high velocity. United look dangerous every time they go forward; they’re not quite so assured at the back. A tale as old as the season.

13 min: Buendia sashays down the right in a very elegant fashion. Upon reaching the box, he whips a low cross through the six-yard box. Ings slides in but can’t connect. Villa again close to an equaliser. It’s been a good response to falling behind.

12 min: Ramsey is booked for a transgression the BBC are yet to show. But he’s in that book!

11 min: ... Luiz whips to the near post. Mings flicks on. Watkins prepares to bundle in at the far stick, but Lindelof gets a little nick to the ball that confuses the striker, who clanks wide right instead.

10 min: Villa respond by winning a corner of their own, down the right. it’s swung to the far stick, where Shaw heads behind for another corner. And from that ...

7 min: Greenwood takes on Targett down the right and earns the evening’s first corner. Shaw and Greenwood play it short. Fernandes attempts a volley. He doesn’t connect and Villa half-clear their lines. But then ...

6 min: Rashford swans in from the left, drops a shoulder, then takes a shot. Luiz blocks. The ball breaks to McTominay, who whistles a low drive straight at Martinez. An easy gather for the Villa keeper.

4 min: Watkins races after a long pass down the right. He’s hoping to find Ings in the middle, but Varane gets in the road and refuses to budge. Villa have to turn tail. They come again, Mings crossing low from the left. An easy claim for De Gea, but this is a nice open start to the match.

2 min: United start by stroking it around nearly as confidently as the opposing manager consumes his gum. Fernandes probes down the left but runs into Konsa and it’s a goal kick.

United, wearing their famous red, get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes the knee. Villa, in second-choice white, will be kicking towards the aforementioned Stretford End in this first half.

Here come the teams! Boos ring from the rafters as Steven Gerrard emerges from the tunnel. He turns to observe the denizens of the Stretford End going about their business before casually slipping a bit of gum into his mouth. We’ll be off in a minute!

No pre-match patter with Ralf Rangnick, though the BBC do show a pre-recorded interview with the United manager, in which Gary Lineker asks if United have the players available to be successful now. “The question is: what does it mean to be successful?” A political masterclass.

Villa boss Steven Gerrard, an acquired taste round Stretford way, speaks to the BBC. “I’m sure I’ll come to quieter places in terms of welcomes and receptions. But it’s about the game, it’s not about me, it’s about how my team performs and we’ve prepared well. We’re looking forward to it. Our record in the cup hasn’t been good enough and we’ve got an opportunity to make that better tonight. We’re not involved in European competition and we want to have a good cup run. Obviously the draw wasn’t as kind as we’d have liked, coming here is going to be a tough game whatever team they pick, so we’re going to have to be at it.”

There’s no Cristiano Ronaldo at all this evening. The 36-year-old, rumoured to be eyeing the door, isn’t in the squad and is one of five changes to the XI named for the defeat at home to Wolves. Jadon Sancho, Nemanja Matic, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Phil Jones also make way, as Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Fred, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford come in.

Philippe Coutinho passed his Villa medical today but is still awaiting a work permit, so there’s another star name who won’t feature tonight. There are two changes to the XI selected to start at Brentford: Tyrone Mings and Ollie Watkins take the places of Kortney Hause and Bertrand Traore.