Embattled Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has called on his team to use their hard-fought 2-1 comeback win over Brentford at Old Trafford as a foundation to return to form after a dismal five-game winless run.
Man United had not scored in the Premier League for over 300 minutes before Alejandro Garnacho’s second-half strike cancelled out Ethan Pinnock’s first-half header. Rasmus Hojlund then completed the dramatic turnaround with a deft finish, lifting the Red Devils to 10th in the table.
Ten Hag admitted his side’s struggles in front of goal this season but praised their attacking quality. “We don’t score enough, we are not clinical enough, but today we scored two great goals,” he said. “The two goals we scored were high quality, and we have seen this team has the capacity to score very good goals. When you score, you add some belief, some confidence.”
United’s win over Brentford ended a spell where they had scored just five goals in seven league games. “We created enough chances in previous games but didn’t score enough, and then you don’t win games, and everyone is negative. It is only one win, we have to build on this,” Ten Hag added.
Ahead of the match, Ten Hag had dismissed speculation surrounding his future as “fairy tales and lies” amid mounting pressure after just three wins from their first 10 games in all competitions.
The first half against Brentford offered little hope of improvement for United, as Garnacho’s efforts and Christian Eriksen’s glaring miss were the few bright moments before Pinnock’s header gave Brentford a 1-0 lead just before the break. United felt hard done by, as Matthijs de Ligt had been off the field due to injury when Brentford capitalised.
Ten Hag was booked for protesting, but the perceived injustice seemed to inspire his side. “We felt some injustice and used this as fuel for the second half,” said the Dutchman. Garnacho levelled the match with a superb volley from Marcus Rashford’s cross, and just minutes later, Bruno Fernandes set up Hojlund, who netted his first Premier League goal of the season.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank, who has been mentioned as a potential successor to Ten Hag, expressed his disappointment in his team’s second-half performance. “We knew they would come out flying, and we were way too passive. The momentum changed, and we lacked the quality we had in the first half,” Frank said.
As Ten Hag’s men look to build on this much-needed win, the pressure remains to sustain the momentum and climb the Premier League table.
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