Scott McTominay came off the bench to give United a late smash-and-grab victory after another stuttering performance
Erik Ten Hag was happy with the result but identified several areas for improvement:
”I felt togetherness with the fans the whole afternoon, even when we were losing.
[I took Casemiro off] because I wanted ore passing and link-up play. We controlled the game, but we have to get more box entries, but we didn’t allow them one shot [until the goal].
Then the same story again. We make the wrong decisions in the wrong moment, 2 or 3 players give the ball away easily, and it sums up our season a little bit. The spirit is good but this has to be a re-start because we have to achieve higher levels.
Scott McTominay is Man United in his life, he gives everything. He is one of our midfield players but he is here to fight for his position. It helps when you can contribute like this afternoon.”
Ten Hag after the game
Forgotten man McTominay gives red priceless victory
Before the match, few would have predicted Scott McTominay to be United’s saviour.
The Scot looked close to the exit door in the summer, and with Casemiro’s excellent form last season his game-time has been sporadic to say the least. But he was just the fillip that yet another lacklustre performance needed.
Fans of international football will know that McTominay has a keen eye for goal in a Scotland shirt, and against Brentford he produced a very sharp piece of control, turn and finish, before getting on the end of a Maguire header in the dying seconds of the game.
There was a period at the start of last season where Scott was getting in the team ahead of Casemiro. With the Brazilian’s recent severe dip in form, could there be a way back into the starting 11 for McTominay?
Player ratings
Onana – 3. Another game to forget for Onana. A really poor mistake for the Brentford goal. United’s number 1 looks very short of confidence and Saturday will have made this worse.
Dalot – 4. An average defensive performance but didn’t do enough going forward. Won’t retain his place when AWB is fit at this rate.
Evans – 6. A solid performance. Can the 35-year old be used week-in week-out in United’s threadbare defence?
Maguire – 6. Dependable and set up the winning goal. Unfortunately doesn’t have the passing range of a Lisandro Martinez, but overall had a good game.
Lindelof – 4. Poor and partly at fault for the goal. Not a huge upgrade from Amrabat at left back.
Casemiro – 3. A pretty shocking performance from a player whose ceiling is as high as anyone’s in world football in his position. United desperately need Casi to start performing again. Brought off at half-time.
Amrabat – 5. Huffed and puffed but couldn’t influence the game. Needs to be given time in this position.
Mount – 4. Ineffective and delivery was poor from set pieces. Doesn’t currently look like a United number 7 but should be given time.
Fernandes – 5. Ineffective on the right but as always, kept going to the end. His late free-kick set up the winning goal.
Rashford – 4. Another poor performance. The worrying thing about Marcus Rashford is currently is his body language. Great players have the ability to react to criticism and use it to drive themselves to be better (anyone seen the Beckham documentary??), but too often Rashford’s head drops and a game will pass him by. It will be a test of Ten Hag’s man-management skills as to whether he can get Rashford to perform at last season’s levels again.
Hojlund – 6. Showed flashes and held the ball up well but wasn’t presented with many opportunities. Not the worst performer by a long way and can hold his head high.
Subs:
Eriksen – 7. Looked to be a big upgrade on Casemiro. Used the ball well and created some dangerous moments
Antony – 6. A decent performance from the bench, Looked dangerous on the ball.
Garnacho – 7. A big improvement on Marcus Rashford. Kept going right to the end, always looking to run past his man and was rewarded with an assist for United’s first goal.
McTominay – 9. The ultimate super-sub performance. On for less than ten minutes but scored both goals in a game that United desperately, desperately needed to win. Came up trumps when it mattered – what a moment for the Scot.
the right result, but another concerning performance
The result was the crucial thing yesterday, but the concerns over the performance will remain.
Some of United’s biggest, not to mention most expensive players are just not performing at the levels required. Rashford and Casemiro were the biggest culprits yesterday, and the manager will need to give serious consideration to his team selection against Sheffield United in a fortnight’s time. I would drop both of those players on current performances.
It’s the international break next week, and a great chance for the players to reset, have a period out of the spotlight and re-focus on getting back to the standards Erik Ten Hag requires.
United have had some bad luck this season, but yesterday things went our way when in mattered. We’re still within touching distance of our rivals; it’s time to re-group and start performing.
time for a break – big games are around the corner
United have a week off, and then there’s a crucial Champion’s League game, with City and Newcastle on the horizon.
We need a hard reset. Yesterday was poor and there was a lot of discontent in the stands until the goals. Erik Ten Hag needs to get this team performing to its full potential if we’re going to get anything out of this season.
