Rio Ferdinand claps back at fans mocking him for celebrating Man United's late equaliser against Aston Villa which left them in the relegation zone

Rio Ferdinand has hit back at football fans who criticised his reaction on social media to Manchester United's 4-4 draw with Aston Villa.

Former United defender Ferdinand drew criticism when he shared a photo of himself celebrating after the Red Devils' dramatic comeback on Sunday afternoon.

Michael Carrick's side had looked down and out at 4-2 in stoppage time, but late strikes from Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu meant they earned a point from the game.

They did, though, remain in the relegation zone – however Ferdinand shared two snaps to his X account following full-time.

The first showed the 48-year-old with his head in his hands, and the second saw him celebrating. He captioned the post: 'From this to THIS!!! Carrick time!!!!!!!!!! Birthday weekend just got (a) tad better in the last 6 minutes…'

Fans though flooded the replies with criticism, questioning why he was 'celebrating a draw' and calling him an 'embarrassment'. Ferdinand, though, has now taken the opportunity to respond.

Rio Ferdinand has hit back at fans who criticised his response to Manchester United's draw with Aston Villa

'Let me just address something,' Ferdinand began on Rio Ferdinand Presents. 'On socials I put a picture up and little comment underneath of me going like that (celebrates).

'That's not me celebrating a point against Aston Villa, by the way, it's me celebrating a moment in a football match. It's what football does to you. It can take over your body, take over your emotions in a moment. That moment isn't the big picture.

'So all of these people saying his standards have dropped and he's celebrating a draw... I'm not celebrating a draw against Villa, I'm celebrating the moment and the fact we actually came back and showed a bit of character.

'It's always about that moment that when you calm down and you go, look where we are in the league, that's terrible, looks how things unfolded in the game, that needs work. But, in the moment, as a football fan, you are allowed to get carried away with it.

'That's what football does. If you don't know that or don't understand it or feel it, you're not a football person, so get out.'

Ferdinand hasn't shied away from criticising his former team-mate Carrick amid United's poor run of form that has left them in 18th in the Premier League table.

United came back from behind to draw 4-4 with Villa having looked down and out in the game

His assessment of Sunday's showing was more tame, with the ex-centre back describing the effort as full of both character and chaos.

He added: 'It's like we need a punch on the nose, or two or three, to start playing. But then, the flip side of it, it's character and ability plays a part in that.

'In the end, we could have won it. But they are giving us fans grey hairs. It's crazy football.'

As thrilling as Man United's fight-back may have been to some fans, manager Carrick was still forced to answer difficult questions at full-time.

Sky Sports' Patrick Davison asked the former captain what he 'expected to happen over the next few weeks' - suggesting a question mark still lingering over his tenure despite comebacks against Roma and Villa.

Carrick's response was understandably thorny, with the manager underlining that he 'probably' would not be walking away from the role.

With United chiefs Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox in the stands, Davison pushed further asking: 'What do you expect to happen? Clearly there's going to be conversation?'

This prompted Carrick to quizzically state: 'Is there?' as the pair engaged in a back-and-forth on the subject.

Eventually Carrick replied: 'You know the situation, we haven't won enough games. But I expect to move forward with things we've been working on, showing a lot of the good from today tighten up a few mistakes and win some football matches.'

United's start of one win in 10 games is still their worst since Alex Ferguson replaced Ron Atkinson 40 years ago this week.

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