United slip to defeat against Brentford

Brentford 3 - 1 Manchester United 

Bruno Fernandes saw a second-half penalty saved as Manchester United slipped to defeat at Brentford

Author | Olivia T

Stadium | Gtech Community Stadium 

Igor Thiago struck twice inside the opening 20 minutes, punishing slack United defending to put the hosts firmly in control. Benjamin Sesko halved the deficit with his first goal since his £74m summer switch from RB Leipzig, offering the visitors hope of a comeback.

That hope grew when Brentford captain Nathan Collins hauled down Bryan Mbeumo in the box, handing Fernandes the chance to level. After a lengthy stoppage, including a VAR red card check and two Brentford substitutions, the United captain’s low strike was superbly saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.

Brentford sealed victory in stoppage time when Mathias Jensen powered a shot past Altay Bayindir from the edge of the area. The result leaves Amorim still searching for back-to-back league wins almost a year into his reign at Old Trafford.

There was no way back from a dreadful start.

View from the away end 

For the second time this season Bruno Fernandes failed to convert a penalty that might have altered United’s fortunes. At Fulham he skied his effort over the bar, this time his strike was on target but Kelleher guessed correctly and Brentford cleared.

There were arguments over whether Collins should have been dismissed for tugging at Mbeumo. The Premier League backed referee Craig Pawson, ruling that the forward did not have control of the ball. The long delay between the decision and the taking of the penalty hardly aided Fernandes either.

United’s problems, however, remain of their own making. Harry Maguire opted to step up in an attempt to play Thiago offside as Henderson threaded his pass. The defender’s positioning was poor and he had no hope of recovering once Thiago raced clear to smash his shot beyond the keeper.

The second goal, created by Schade from out wide, was less of a shock. Brentford continually exploited the spaces behind United’s wing-backs. Luke Shaw was stretched trying to plug gaps on the left and Matthijs de Ligt was forced to do the same on the right. United lacked the numbers to cope and the scrutiny again falls on Ruben Amorim’s refusal to alter his system as a winless away run extended to eight league games, their longest since 2019.

"It's just not working..." | Fans respond to another defeat 

Michael was in the away end at Brentford, he told us: "You can talk about the owners or other people running the club but this is down to the manager now. It's just not working."

Another fan added: "We offered little in attack. Chances were scarce and it felt like another flat performance, another bad day at the office."