Manchester United twice came back from two goals down to earn a point against Aston Villa in an eight-goal thriller at Old Trafford, although they will go into the international break in the Premier League relegation zone.

The Red Devils had dropped into the bottom three following Nottingham Forest's win against Manchester City on Saturday, and the weekend continued to get worse for Michael Carrick's side as they found themselves 2-0 down against Villa after just four minutes.

United fought back to be level at the break, but then conceded two goals in eight minutes at the start of the second half.

That looked to have sucked the fight out of the home side but remarkably - and for the third time in a week after recovering to beat Roma on Tuesday - they came back from two goals behind again.

Joshua Zirkzee sparked it when he struck two minutes into stoppage time to make it 4-3, before Patrick Dorgu dramatically levelled in the sixth minute added on when he headed in from a corner.

They almost won it, too, but ultimately had to settle for snatching a draw from the jaws of defeat - leaving them 18th and one point from safety going into a two-week break.

It was a result that will not quite ease the pressure on Carrick, given their at times chaotic defending, but he will be the happier of the two managers.

Unai Emery's side had made a dream start when Alysson opened the scoring inside the opening minute as his shot squeezed under Senne Lammens, who moments later parried a second Alysson shot - with Nicolas Jackson there to fire in the loose ball.

But Manchester United were awarded a penalty in the 14th minute when Boubacar Kamara took down Matheus Cunha inside the box, and Bruno Fernandes made no mistake from the spot.

That seemed to galvanise the hosts and they were the better side for the rest of the half, deservedly drawing level just before the break when Youri Tielemans - who joined Manchester United from Villa in the summer - drove in from Noussair Mazraoui's cutback.

However, all that work was undone as Manchester United conceded two further goals early in the second half.

First, Aston Villa were given a spot-kick a minute after the break when Diogo Dalot took down Alysson and John McGinn stepped up to confidently convert.

Leon Goretzka then restored Villa's two-goal advantage in the 53rd minute following some haphazard defending following a free-kick. Leny Yoro headed the ball back towards Lammens, who punched it on to his own crossbar and Goretzka was there to prod in at the back post.

From then on it seemed like Villa would take a win that would lift them up to eighth, but then came the stoppage-time drama that will have provided some sense of relief for Carrick.

Fans will have certainly left Old Trafford entertained and, while this was a memorable game, Carrick will know Manchester United cannot keep putting themselves into positions of needing to stage fightbacks.

Their defensive frailties have repeatedly left them in difficult situations, and Lammens should have done better for the first two goals against Villa, while defenders Dalot and Yoro were at fault for the third and fourth goals.

United have to be commended for not giving up, both in this game and against Roma in the Champions League, but their defending has to improve if they are to end their search for a first Premier League win since August anytime soon.

They have shipped 30 goals in all competitions this season - no side in Europe's top five leagues have conceded more.

Emery was clearly exasperated at how his side twice gave up strong positions at Old Trafford, and he headed towards the tunnel the moment Manchester United equalised for the second time.

The performance leaves big question marks over Aston Villa's game management, and it will have been concerning for Emery just how swiftly his players wilted after conceding the first and third goals.

Villa should really have been celebrating a first win in four games but instead this extends their recent stumble, following an unbeaten seven-match run through September and October.