Manchester United v Brentford blog

 Manchester United v Brentford- Saturday 19th October 2024 

 Welcome back guys! I didn't get a chance to post a blog prior to the game, however in this blog I will dive deep into all things regarding United including injury news, the pressure building on the manager Erik Ten Hag, the performance on Saturday and much more.

There was a lot of negative noise surrounding the whole club in the build up to the game on Saturday. With a mixed start to the season, United were looking to find their rhythm and secure a crucial three points against the Bees. There was a lot of talk and speculation regarding United's performance in the week before the match. Following a string of patchy performances, concerns were raised regarding the team's mental toughness and manager Erik ten Hag's tactics. The pressure was mounting and a solid performance was deemed essential not just for the points but to restore confidence among players and supporters. As a big supporter myself, I have been following closely about what is being said on social media, by pundits and by supporters. I will always have my own opinion on things and I won't let what other people are saying influence my opinion. I have always backed the manager Erik Ten Hag and have believed that the problems are deeper than just the manager and the players as there has been many top class managers and players at Manchester United over the years and we still can't seem to be successful. However, there has been many changes made at Manchester United this season at board level including bringing in new owners and executives. I believe that Ten Hag is a top manager and deserves his chance. Despite this, winning the FA cup at the end of last season may well have saved him his job and I believed that this season we could kick on after having a successful summer transfer window. This has clearly not been the case judging by results and the league table, frustration is building among supporters and pressure is building on the manager. Although I do like Erik Ten hag, I do think that if performances and results don't turn around then his time as Manchester United Manager may be limited and rightfully so! 

Match Day: Manchester United vs. Brentford

The match kicked off with a vibrant Old Trafford roaring with support. United started strong, pressing high and trying to dominate possession. Brentford, known for their resilience, absorbed the pressure and looked to counter when opportunities arose. Brentford opened the deadlock through a corner in the 50th minute of the first half with there being 5+ minutes of added time. There was some controversy about the goal as prior to the corner being taken, our Centre back Matthijs De Ligt had to leave the pitch due to a head injury. However, he was not allowed back onto the pitch for the corner to be taken and having him on the pitch may well could have prevented us from conceding due to his Ariel presence. Brentford then scored from the corner leaving De Ligt and Erik Ten Hag's coaching staff raging on the touchline. Coming out for the second half Erik Ten Hag's side felt like they had a point to prove and 2 minutes into the second half United scored a beautiful goal scored by young forward Alejandro Garnacho with Marcus Rashford providing a wonderful assist. This goal rejuvenated the home support and gave united the confidence to push on in the game. In the 62nd minute united scored another really well worked goal with a piece of class from Bruno Fernandes to set up Rasmus Holland who finished it off cutely with a dink over the keeper. Hojlund has had a rough time with injuries so that goal for him will be a huge confidence booster. In the end United were able to hold out for a 2-1 victory taking an enormous amount of pressure off the manager and hopefully giving this squad the confidence to go on a run of form and push ourselves up the table. 

Injury news 

There is thankfully no more injury news to update you guys about after the game on Saturday. However, the most notable injury at the moment is Kobbie Mainoo who will be a huge miss for Manchester United in the coming weeks. He is expected to be back fit in about 3/4 weeks time, so until then we will need other players to step up and perform.

Thank you for taking time to read the blog guys, if you have any thoughts please feel free to comment and we can get a discussion going! That's it for this time, there will be another blog posted in the next couple of days so make sure to tune in again. Thanks, GGMU!