Brentford 1-3 Man Utd (Toney 85′ | Elanga 55′, Greenwood 62′, Rashford 77′)
Manchester United could be fourth on Saturday should they beat West Ham. Was there any idea more preposterous when United disappeared down the half-time tunnel at Brentford?
A more mixed-up bunch of incoherents you could not have imagined. Had Brentford a striker remotely capable of finding the net when the outcome was in the balance then the Ralf Rangnick obit business would have been underway and United searching for the interim’s interim.
Yet here we are. For the second match running United took a two goal lead only this time, instead of collapsing they added a third, and a Marcus Rashford beauty to boot. When Rashford puts his laces through a ball like he did here you wonder how he might ever suffer performance anxiety. Yes, Ivan Toney bundled a late consolation for Brentford, but it could not affect the game when it mattered.
Shame because the football experience at Brentford needs it. Matchday here could not be further removed from the blue chip grandeur of United. The Community Stadium, for all its sparkly newness, is what it says on the tin, a modest arrangement where locals gather. There is an intimacy about the place wholly alien to the men of Manchester. And it confers on the hosts a sense of belonging that adds up to a 12th man if incentivised by failings in the opposition. In other words, Brentford can get on top of opponents quickly if allowed.
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United had a good hour at Aston Villa and looked plausible at 2-0. Yet still, they didn’t win. As that late collapse showed United are not free of the structural flaws that have scarred the season and led to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tearful demise. This is the tension Rangnick was brought in to negotiate and the fascination for neutrals for whom the suffering of the rich is a vicarious pleasure.
Brentford were that organised, disciplined unit Rangnick so wants United to be. In contrast, United were fitful, disjointed and fortunate to survive the helter-skelter opening by the Bees. Between them, David De Gea and his flailing team-mates somehow combined to keep Brentford out. The stadium bounced as Brentford took turns in the coconut shy that was the United box.
This is just how Brentford like it. They swarm with grit and energy, and with United vulnerable early the ambush was on. Brentford are also a team running a deficit in quality, particularly up front. Commitment is not enough. And so it was that the chances came and went and United rolled on unpunished.
If nothing else United have adjusted to this kind of buffeting. Anomie is the default setting. Patterns, norms, shape, control, that’s for other teams. United have the wonderfully chaotic Fred at the centre of things. Say no more. Rangnick looked on from his technical area none the wiser after six weeks in the post. Whatever he hoped to achieve in that opening half it didn’t happen. He moves his pieces around in the hope of a different outcome and is rewarded with more of the same.
Indifferent as they were United actually had a threatening attempt at the start of the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo nodding onto the bar. This in turn released Brentford, who broke two on one, Bryan Mbeumo releasing Mathias Jensen, who underscored the failing identified above by shooting tamely at De Gea.
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Ronaldo featured heavily in the half time identification parade to determine who had been United’s least effective performer. It was a strong field. For home supporters hoping to catch a glimpse of an all-time great, the night had offered little, and then he stuck out that chest to make a pass out of a floated clearance from Scott McTominay and United went galloping towards goal. It looked for all the world that Bruno Fernandes would indulge himself as he bore down on goal. Instead he squared the ball to Mason Greenwood who gratefully tapped home.
Out of nothing, United were two to the good, a dangerous place to be four days prior. Until Brentford can lay their hands on a Philippe Coutinho the scope for stirring comebacks is not quite there. Thomas Frank screamed himself hoarse on the touchline. He has worked wonders at this club but no fairytale lasts forever and there is a feeling that Brentford have already passed the tipping point.
Rangnick hooked Ronaldo and Greenwood for Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire to ensure no repeat of the Villa Park unravelling. He left it too late to respond to the Villa uprising on Sunday. Here he was decisive and was rewarded with a third to make the game if not the scoreline safe.
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