Manchester United scored two second-half goals to secure a comeback 2-1 win over Brentford at Old Trafford
Rasmus Højlund’s winner was a strike of certifiable skill and will bring a calmer vibe to Erik ten Hag and his troubledwere 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.
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.
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.
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