After the highs of the FA Cup quarterfinal, Manchester United brought the fans back down to Earth with yet another disastrous performance, this time against Brentford and were lucky to escape the Gtech Community Stadium with a point.
United’s goal led a charmed life with the hosts hitting the frame of the goal on five occasions while also seeing a goal from Ivan Toney chalked off for offside.
The Bees had 31 shots as compared to 11 from the visitors but Erik ten Hag must have thought his team had clinched yet another game with a late winner when substitute Mason Mount popped up to score in the sixth minute of added time.
But Kristoffer Ajer equalised within a couple of minutes and simply put, the Red Devils did not deserve anything from the game.
Another disasterclass
This season has been littered with false dawns and whenever it seems this team is close to turning the corner, they have consistently put in an atrocious display soon after.
On Saturday, Ten Hag’s team looked lethargic, and they lost almost every duel inside the box and the hosts just showed they wanted it more.
Brentford kept winning every 50-50 ball and were the first to every knockdown and header in the box and they outran United by almost 5 kilometres.
The manager’s high-transition style does not work but he keeps persisting and Thomas Frank’s team countered time and again with massive gaps in the middle of the pitch.
And why he played Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the left instead of on the right will also remain a mystery. It made sense against Liverpool because of Mohamed Salah, but not against the London side.
EtH has not improved the team
Ten Hag said in the pre-match press conference that his team has improved since their 0-4 drubbing last season but it did not seem so for the millions of fans watching.
Dynamic players like Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo, who have often made the difference in games, looked close to burnout and were rightly substituted.
They have played in almost every game for club and country since November and it showed. Mainoo’s passing was off while the Argentine hardly got on the ball.
Champions League qualification looks unlikely and at this rate, even sixth place does not look safe. INEOS are watching and Ten Hag’s position is on extremely shaky ground.
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