Manchester United had to fight their way back coming from behind to seal a 2-1 victory over Brentford at Old Trafford. It was a much-needed win for Ten Hag who has been under much scrutiny before and during the international break. The front three of Garnacho, Rashford and Hojlund duly delivered in the attack.
Ten Hag made a number of changes to the starting eleven with Casemiro stepping in for Kobbie Mainoo who is sidelined for the next few weeks. Lisandro Martinez and Jonny Evans came into the defence in place of Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui.
Brentford take controversial lead
Brentford have been making a habit of quick starts in the last few games and nearly did so again. Kevin Schade had the chance to open the scoring after a threatening cross coming in from the left. There was to be a lengthy break early on as Matthijs De Ligt suffered a nasty cut to the head after colliding Schade’s knee, which was patched by the United medical team and cleared to carry on.
As the Bees pressed high up, United were able to find space within the midfield to exploit. The Reds best chances came through Alejandro Garnacho on the left but was unable to convert. His first effort was parried by Mark Flekken, the second effort went wide of the target. Lisandro Martinez went close when his header from Eriksen’s corner was fumbled by the opposition goalkeeper but the ball was cleared away.
Andre Onana was called into action when he dived to his right to deny Christian Norgaard’s curling effort. The momentum was firmly in United’s court as we entered the latter stages of the first half. Christian Eriksen had the perfect opportunity to score but skied his effort over the bar from close range.
Brentford were then to score against the run of play in the final minutes of the half when Ethan Pinnock got away from Diogo Dalot leaping up in the air to head home from the corner. United had felt aggrieved that the corner was taken after referee Samuel Barrott had told Matthijs De Ligt to go off the pitch to receive treatment to his bleading head and not able to come back on and help his teammates with the corner.
Reds fight back in promising second half
United hit back with the perfect response. Marcus Rashford hit a diagonally ball across the six yard box for Alejandro Garnacho to volley in the equaliser two minutes into the second half. The Argentine nearly had a second moments later but Flekken pushed his effort wide of the post. The Reds saw a sustain period of possession with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes coming close to giving us the lead.
The Reds continued to press Brentford high up on the pitch forcing them to play long balls. This proved key when the opposition played the ball out when Eriksen picked it up ball laying into Bruno, who flicked behind him to put Rasmus Hojlund through on goal chipping the ball over the keeper into the net.
We had the opportunity to extend our lead when Dalot got on the end of a long pass but his effort was denied by Flekken. Joshua Zirkzee nearly finished the game off after Rashford had set him up. However, the Dutchman first touch let him down and the ball ran away before he could take a shot.
Brentford nearly had a chance to snatch a point but Fabio Carvalho pulled his shot wide in stoppage time. United saw out the remaining minutes to record the win, which was needed. The fighting spirit shown by the Reds meant they finally got their reward.
Player Ratings & MOTM
Andre Onana – 7. Not tested too much other than having to save Christian Norgaard’s effort in the first half.
Diogo Dalot – 6. Lost Ethan Pinnock from the corner that saw Brentford score. Looked more comfortable playing as a right back.
Matthijs De Ligt – 7. Took a nasty cut to the head early on but showed a warrior’s performance at centre back.
Lisandro Martinez – 6.5. Struggled at times in the left back role and up against Bryan Mbeumo. Played his part in our second half comeback.
Jonny Evans – 7. Another experienced performance who continues to roll back the years.
Christian Eriksen – 7. Continuing his renaissance as his passing helped control the game. Helped in setting up the winning for Hojlund.
Casemiro – 6.5. A good performance from Brazilian to ensure our midfield was not overrun.
Bruno Fernandes – 7. Looked frustrated in the first half but came alive in the second. His assist helped Hojlund put us into the lead.
Alejandro Garnacho – 8 & MOTM. Always a constant threat down the left. Kept going and deservedly got his goal.
Marcus Rashford – 7. Hit some good passes to Garnacho including for the equaliser.
Rasmus Højlund – 7. Brilliant in the link up play and hold the ball to get United on the attack. Rediscovered his goalscoring touch to give us the win.
Subs:
Joshua Zirkzee – 6. Missed a chance to put United further ahead in the game.
Manuel Ugarte – N/A.
Victor Lindelof – N/A.
Noussair Mazraoui – N/A.
Looking ahead
Our performance was far better than we have seen in recent times and we took our chances against Brentford. Next up for United is a return to the Europa League when head to Turkey to take on former manager Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbache on Thursday night.