Following a period of intense analysis of his performance during the international break, beleaguered manager, Erik ten Hag led Manchester United to a rally win from behind against Brentford at Old Trafford, commenting it was sparked by a perception of “unfairness”. A powerful header from Ethan Pinnock during a deep first-half overtime corner kick had the Reds playing catch up.
Manchester United were down by a man at the time, having lost Matthijs de Ligt to a field expulsion to treat his bloodied head. Ten Hag was penalised for objecting fiercely after Brentford scored the opening goal. The manager admitted that this perceived injustice motivated his team’s second-half resurgence. A spectacular volley from Alejandro Garnacho and a brilliant finish from Rasmus Højlund secured United’s desperately needed 2-1 triumph.
When probed about the pressures of being behind at half-time, Ten Hag explained that the constant pressure is part and parcel of the game. Noting that the team is expected to win every match, he acknowledged that being down 1-0 requires them to figure out a way to stage a comeback. He lauded his team’s performance in the second half, attributing their success to heightened tempo and two excellent goals.
Upon being questioned about his angry reaction to de Ligt’s removal, given that a player must depart the field if they have been cut, Ten Hag revealed that the incident related to dry blood from a previously treated injury. This caused confusion among his team, as they didn’t understand why de Ligt was ordered off. Ten Hag expressed disappointment at losing one of his best headers during a critical moment considering Brentford’s corner expertise.
Following Saturday’s triumph that successfully halted a streak of non-victories across all games, eyes are now set on the impending Europa League tournament against Fenerbahçe. The team is directed by Jose Mourinho, a past coach of the United.
When questioned about whether the Brentford triumph signifies a pivotal moment, Ten Hag simply stated, “It’s only one victory.” He then remarked that their recent group of matches had not yielded abundant successes, and they had suffered only one loss, which was against Tottenham. That game, controversially he suggests, observed their team reduced to just 10 players.
In retrospect, everyone shared the belief that they shouldn’t have been brought down to 10 on the field. He then emphasised the need to improve in the area of scoring goals, though he did acknowledge their relative success in occupying the right positions and performing necessary ball advancement.
They were occupying the correct spaces, but according to Ten Hag, they lacked the ruthlessness and determination needed to be victorious in games.
Meanwhile, Brentford’s coach, Thomas Frank, expressed disappointment in the rather uninspiring performance during the second half of the match. Despite a hopeful beginning which saw them take the lead, the second half was significantly less impressive.
“The first half looked promising, with us in the lead. But the second half was totally different, with Manchester United showing superior play,” Frank stated light-heartedly.
He conveyed disappointment with their second-half showing, where they seemed overly compliant. Frank was particularly vexed by their conceding a goal just two minutes into the second half, and felt that the momentum then swung in favour of Manchester United, with their confidence visibly swelling.
As Frank sees it, his team failed to demonstrate the same quality of play in the second half compared to the first. Too many of his players were unable to perform at their peak. He reiterated that absolute top-level performance is necessary to clinch a victory against teams like Manchester United, who boasts quality players who raised their game in the second half. Hence, in Frank’s view, the outcome was a fair one.