Man United 2-1 Brentford (Oct 19, 2024) Match analysis

Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Højlund got on the scoresheet as Manchester United came back from a controversial goal to beat Brentford 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday for their first win in more than a month.

The win meant United moved up to 10th in the standings with 11 points after eight games and eased some of the pressure on beleaguered coach Erik ten Hag, whose job was the subject of speculation in the media. Brentford are in 12th place with 10 points.

United had 10 men on the field when Ethan Pinnock headed low into Brentford's goal from a corner in first-half stoppage time after referee Sam Barrott ordered Matthijs de Ligt to go to the touchline to stop bleeding from a cut on his side stop head.

Ten Hag and his assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy shouted at the fourth official as he made the decision.

But it seemed to fire up the home side, who dominated Brentford in a spirited second half, and Garnacho latched onto a cross from Marcus Rashford and fired into the far corner from the left side of the six-yard box in the 47th minute.

Højlund gave the home side the lead in spectacular fashion in the 62nd minute when Bruno Fernandes caught him with a backheel pass and the Dane lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Mark Flekken for his first league goal of the season.

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

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United had not won a game since beating Barnsley 7-0 in the League Cup on September 17th and had not won a league game since beating Southampton 3-0 on September 14th.

Brentford had scored within the first two minutes of their last four league games. Kevin Schade had one of the guests' best chances of the game in the third minute, but was unable to get Vitaly Janelt's ball into the penalty area.

Brentford's Christian Nørgaard also forced André Onana into a spectacular diving save in the first half.

“We were the best team in the (first) half. Definitely unrivaled in the second half, disappointed in the second half that we couldn't do better. Of course we knew they would come out flying, we were far too passive,” said Brentford coach Thomas Frank.

Otherwise, United had the best chances, including Christian Eriksen, who shot over the net. Ten Hag's men had 11 shots on target, Brentford's two.