Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Højlund scored as Manchester United secured a 2-1 victory over Brentford at Old Trafford on Saturday, marking their first win in over a month. The result lifted United to 10th in the league standings with 11 points from eight matches, alleviating some of the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag amid speculation about his future. Brentford is currently in 12th place with 10 points.
“Every game we win is important,” Ten Hag stated when asked about the significance of the victory. “This team shows togetherness and a fighting spirit. Today we demonstrated determination to score goals, which is essential for us.”
United faced a setback when Ethan Pinnock scored for Brentford just before halftime, taking advantage of a corner with the team reduced to ten players due to Matthijs de Ligt’s injury. Ten Hag and assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy deemed this an “injustice,” as they believed the player was treated for his injury and should have remained on the field.
However, the incident seemed to motivate United in the second half. Garnacho equalized shortly after the restart, converting a cross from Marcus Rashford in the 47th minute. Højlund then netted the winning goal in the 62nd minute, skillfully chipping the ball over goalkeeper Mark Flekken after receiving a back-heel pass from Bruno Fernandes; this marked Højlund’s first league goal of the season.
Prior to this match, United had not won since a League Cup victory over Barnsley on September 17 and had not tasted league success since defeating Southampton on September 14. Brentford, who had scored within the first two minutes in their last four league matches, failed to capitalize early against United.
Brentford coach Thomas Frank noted the stark contrast between the two halves, stating, “We were the best team in the first half. The second half was disappointing as we were too passive.” Despite a solid start, Brentford struggled to match United’s intensity, and United outshot them with 11 attempts on target compared to Brentford’s two.