Redemption of sorts for Manchester United. For Newcastle on Sunday, but most of all for that horrific defeat at Brentford in August.
There must have been times when the mere mention of Thomas Frank’s side brought Erik ten Hag out in a cold sweat.
Credit to the United manager and his players, they picked themselves up off the floor and have turned this into quite a promising season.
Quite a long one, too, potentially. This was the 48th game of what could be a 65-match campaign, and United were showing signs of fatigue long before they sank to defeat on Tyneside at the weekend and dropped out of the top-four.
Victory at Old Trafford on Wednesday night lifted them back into fourth place, albeit still behind Newcastle thanks to an ever-increasing goal difference.
Marcus Rashford (right) was the man making the difference again for Manchester United as his goal downed Brentford
The England international manufactured some space to convert from a clever knockdown by midfielder Marcel Sabitzer
This wasn’t vintage United under Erik ten Hag but the Dutchman will take this after a stuttering run in the league of late
You could hardly call it revenge for the 4-0 defeat at Brentford in Ten Hag’s first away game in charge, but it at least gave the Dutchman a degree of closure as well as a much-needed win.
United came into the game in danger of going four league fixtures without a goal for the first time since April 1989. The wait had stretched to 326 minutes when Marcus Rashford claimed his 28th of the season.
Where would United be without Rashford? Considerably further down the table, that’s where. Mathematically, his goals have accounted for 15 points but the England man brings so much more to the table for this United team.
There was little doubt about the outcome last minute when he was presented with a clear chance in front of goal in the 27th minute.
It came from a corner by Jadon Sancho, the one change from Sunday’s 2-0 defeat on Tyneside after Ten Hag finally decided to rest Wout Weghorst.
The on-loan striker from Burnley has started all 19 games since making his debut at Crystal Palace in January and does have a tendency to split opinion.
To some, he is the ultimate team player. To others, he simply isn’t good enough for United.
Sancho swung over a corner from the right and Ethan Pinnock headed clear to the edge of the box where Lisandro Martinez was waiting.
Martinez clipped the ball back in to Marcel Sabitzer who had got the wrong side of three defenders.
Strangely, none of them saw fit to pick up Rashford and Sabitzer nodded the ball down to his team-mate who was never going to miss from close-range.
It was enough to see off Brentford who suffered only their second defeat in 17 Premier League games.
The Bees have been excellent this season, but they may regret not showing more ambition until the second half against a United side still some way short of their best.
They started the game sluggishly and ended it sitting rather uncomfortably on their one-goal lead.
Ten Hag lost Luke Shaw to injury before half-time and the return of Casemiro, who will compete his four-match suspension when Everton are the visitors here on Saturday lunchtime, cannot come soon enough.
It needed an excellent save from David de Gea to deny Kevin Schade in the second half, but the Spaniard’s difficulties with the ball at his feet are becoming a real worry.
Newcastle targeted De Gea’s short goal kicks at the weekend, and when he exchanged passes with Martinez in the 49th-minute and tried to clear his lines, Ivan Toney blocked the ball which flew just wide of the empty goal.
But United’s performance was still a colossal improvement on their sorry display at the Gtech Community Stadium in August. There will be no punishment runs ordered by Ten Hag at Carrington on Thursday.
Ten Hag chose to make one change from the side that got humbled at Newcastle, swapping Wout Weghorst for Jadon Sancho
Brazilian winger Antony was in the line-up again and he was eager to stretch Brentford in the nip-and-tuck early exchanges
Eight months had passed since the new manager made that excruciating walk to the dressing-rooms with United four goals down at half-time.
Seven of the line-up that started at Brentford were back on duty here, and there was more than a hint of atonement again after Ten Hag admitted that his team had slipped back into bad habits at Newcastle.
It soon became clear that Brentford’s defence were going to be in for a busy night as United dominated a one-sided first half in the Manchester rain.
But it still took them nearly 20 minutes to fire their first shot in anger and almost half an hour to score through Rashford.
Sabitzer had the first effort with a free kick that glanced off the head of Toney.
Scott McTominay then fired a sweet volley over the bar from Antony’s cut-back, and the Brazilian tried his luck with a trademark shot curled just wide with his left foot.
Challenges flew in and Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay (centre) was booked, one of three home players
The downside of the evening for United was the injury suffered by Luke Shaw (left), as he was replaced early by Tyrell Malacia
Brentford fought back after the break, though. After Toney had almost embarrassed De Gea, two of the three substitutes sent on by Frank just after the hour mark went close to an equaliser.
Shandon Baptiste saw his effort well blocked by McTominay, and Schade nicked the ball from Raphael Varane to go through on goal. The German will be disappointed he couldn’t finish, but De Gea came out to make a crucial block and was hurt in the process.
It was enough to see United over the line as they returned to winning ways in the league just when it looked as though they might be running out of steam.
They still haven’t found top gear again, but Ten Hag will take this.
source: dailymail.co.uk
