January 20, (THEWILL) – Manchester United overcame Brentford 3-1 on Wednesday evening after a dreadful first half that gave off unsettling vibes of their recent decline in form.
Both teams started well, but Brentford had the game’s first great chances. David de Gea turned Mathias Jensen’s low drive aside, and Vitaly Janelt and Mads Bech Sorensen both saw decent efforts diverted wide shortly after.
Midway through the half, Diogo Dalot’s long-range shot had spectators on the edge of their seats, but the ball curved agonisingly wide of Jonas Lossl’s goal.
As the game went, United had a better grasp on the circumstances, but Brentford remained a significant threat on the break. Jensen was put through on goal after a fast move, but De Gea was there to keep United in the game.
United did not even muster a shot on goal in the first 45 minutes, and they also covered 4.5 kilometres less than Brentford, which was far from expected. This must have featured prominently in the interval talk of United’s German gaffer, Ralf Rangnick.
Yet, just two minutes after the restart, it was Brentford that was taking the initiative as Jensen had another chance on the counter, but De Gea was able to stop him.
The visitors took the lead against the run of play thanks to Anthony Elanga. The teenager pounced on a wonderful pass from Fred and headed the ball past Lossl ten minutes into the second half to give his team the lead.
United had complete control of the game after that goal, and it was 2-0 just minutes later. Bruno Fernandes squared to Mason Greenwood for a simple tap-in after Cristiano Ronaldo’s superb pass found him.
Marcus Rashford scored the game’s third goal 13 minutes from time, converting a Fernandes through pass. With five minutes left, Ivan Toney scored a consolation goal, but the damage had already been done.
Brentford must improve against Wolves at home on Saturday in order to break a three-game losing streak. United is also in Premier League action on Saturday, hosting West Ham in a key match in the race for a Champions League spot.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
