Brentford pile further pressure on Manchester United

BRENTFORD piled further pressure on Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim with a convincing 3-1 win at the Gtech Community Stadium, leapfrogging the Red Devils into 11th place on goal difference, reports David Olaseinde.

A clinical brace from Igor Thiago and a stoppage-time strike from Mathias Jensen sealed all three points for the Bees, while United’s only response came from Benjamin Sesko in the second half.

Brentford too good for under par West Ham

Bruno Fernandes squandered a golden opportunity to level the game at 2-1 when his penalty was brilliantly saved by Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher. The spot-kick had been awarded after Nathan Collins was adjudged to have pulled back Bryan Mbeumo in the box, but VAR confirmed there was no red card offence.

The win takes Brentford up to 11th, with both sides now on seven points from three games, but United’s inferior goal difference sees them drop to 13th. The result leaves Amorim still searching for back-to-back wins in charge of United, with questions growing over his tenure.

Brentford made a promising start to the match and were rewarded in the 9th minute with a thunderous opener from Thiago. The goal came after a Manchester United attack broke down, allowing Jordan Henderson to launch a pinpoint ball from inside his own half. Harry Maguire’s failed attempt to play the offside trap left Thiago clean through on goal. The Brentford number nine made no mistake, rifling a powerful left-footed strike past a helpless Altay Bayındır into the top-left corner. A brief VAR check followed, but Thiago was deemed to have narrowly timed his run to perfection.

Buoyed by their early lead, Brentford continued to pile pressure on United’s backline. In the 17th minute, they came agonisingly close to doubling their advantage. Bayındır produced two outstanding point-blank saves in quick succession, first denying Sepp van den Berg, then Collins, both from close-range headers.

Just three minutes later, the Bees finally got their second. In the 20th minute, Kevin Schade’s low shot was parried into the danger zone by Bayındır, and Thiago was quickest to react, prodding the ball home ahead of Luke Shaw to bag his brace and extend Brentford’s lead.

However, United responded swiftly. In the 26th minute, Sesko opened his account for the Red Devils with a clinical finish into the roof of the net. The goal came after Patrick Dorgu’s mishit cross from the left caused chaos in the Brentford box. Kelleher made two quick saves in an attempt to rectify the situation, but Sesko was on hand to fire home at the third attempt and halve the deficit.

VAR was called upon for a second time, but after a brief review, the goal was allowed to stand, confirming United’s lifeline in what had been a dominant opening spell from the hosts.

The second half began with Brentford looking the more dangerous side. In the 60th minute, Sepp van den Berg nearly restored the Bees’ two-goal advantage, but his tame effort from a Nathan Collins knockdown failed to test Bayındır.

Minutes later, Brentford came close again. Schade battled past Diogo Dalot down the left and laid the ball back to Dango Ouattara, whose tame left-footed strike was parried away for a corner by Bayındır.

United, largely second-best throughout, had a lifeline in the 76th minute when Fernandes stepped up from the spot following Collins’ foul on Mbeumo. But Kelleher guessed correctly, diving to his left to preserve Brentford’s lead.

In added time, Brentford put Manchester United out of their misery and the game beyond doubt. After a swift counter-attack, Jensen smashed home a thunderous shot that left Bayındır with no chance, securing a deserved victory for Keith Andrews’ men.

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