Rasmus Højlund’s winner was a strike of certifiable skill and will bring a calmer vibe to Erik ten Hag and his troubled Manchester United after they claimed three points for the first time since the defeat of Southampton in mid-September.
On 62 minutes Brentford were pinned back by their right corner flag. The ball was claimed, Christian Eriksen slid a pass to Bruno Fernandes, and his no-look flick to Højlund was as sweet as the striker’s deft dink over Mark Flekken as Brentford’s visiting goalkeeper went to ground.
It followed a volleyed Alejandro Garnacho equaliser inside two minutes of the second half which was an apt response to the debacle overseen by Ten Hag and his medical staff just before the interval that presaged Brenford’s opener.
When this went in it seemed emblematic of United’s ills. As the visitors prepared to swing a corner in from the left, Matthijs de Ligt was ordered to the touchline by the referee, Sam Barrott, for a head injury, sustained early in the period, to be patched up for a third time. As this occurred in came a set-piece by Mikkel Damsgaard and – quelle surprise – there was Ethan Pinnock rising plum where the Dutchman should have been – in the middle of André Onana’s goal – to head in, unmarked.
Cue De Ligt going ballistic at the fourth official, Gavin Ward, a seething Ruud van Nistelrooy doing the same, and the latter and Ten Hag being booked for their anger. Except two previous attempts had been made to stem De Ligt’s bleeding so United’s medics carried a measure of culpability while Ten Hag, as United’s manager, was ultimately responsible for not previously replacing the defender.
De Ligt, sans any bandage, emerged for the second half and, inside two minutes, United fashioned the perfect riposte: a curving Marcus Rashford cross to the far post was smacked home by Garnacho to equalise. The Argentinian grabbed a first league goal since the 3-0 win at Saints, and increased United’s Premier League scoring tally by 20% – to six.
This had messrs Ten Hag and Van Nistelrooy hugging and United spirits rocketing, which they were certainly not entering this contest. “Fairytales and lies” had been Ten Hag’s pre-match claim of some of the reports that stated his job was at stake going into the international break. The manager – mysteriously – did not mention how United standing 14th, with eight points from seven matches, and a goal difference of -3, might have piled on the pressure. Factor in, too, Sir Alex Ferguson’s £2.6m salary as a United “global ambassador” being culled, and these were the strands of the latest intrigue to swirl around United.
Yet, they did end here on top and deserving of victory. De Ligt’s cut came when he headed Kevin Schade’s knee rather than the ball: the centre-back was as fortunate to continue as United were determined not to be bowed by the farrago he was the main player in. Next, United are at Fenerbahce in the Europa League, they then travel to West Ham.
Can they, at last, find consistency? Their lack of this is as evident as the lack of a game-model: the two, of course, are related.
