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Manchester United pulled off a comeback at the death to secure a nailbiting 2-1 win over Brentford at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
During the opening minutes of play, Man United had minimal possession, instead opting to play a high-pressing game in order to put the visitors’s defence under pressure.
In the 6th minute, this tactic almost worked when United forced a corner which Marcus Rashford headed over the top.
United continued to launch counter-attacks time and again, with Rasmus Hojlund delivering a dangerous ball from the left which was sent out for a corner.
Unfortunately, Mason Mount delivered two ineffective corners which were easily dealt with by the Brentford defence.
During a moment of finesse by the winger, Brentford keeper Thomas Strakosha scooped up the ball to maintain the visitors’ lead.
With four minutes left of the first half, Bruno Fernandes came close to levelling the scoreline when his blistering free kick was headed out by Wissa.
On the stroke of half-time, United came their closest to scoring when Casemiro’s deflected header bounced to Hojlund, who was ultimately unable to make contact just inches away from the goal line.
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As the half-time whistle blew, a despondent United walked down the tunnel 1-0 down, with fans’ patience running increasingly thin for Ten Hag and his men.
Christian Eriksen came on for Casemiro at the start of the second half – a substitution that Ten Hag would hope would breathe new life into United’s midfield.
During the opening proceedings, this change looked to be a positive one, with Eriksen letting rip a thunderous shot from distance to force a desperate save from the Brentford shot-stopper.
Nine minutes after the break, Brentford came close to doubling their lead, with Dalot being forced to clear the ball close to the goal line after it ricocheted off Christian Norgaard.
With little over 30 minutes remaining, Alejandro Garnacho took the place of Marcus Rashford, while Mason Mount made room for Antony.
Ten Hag substituted Scott McTominay with Sofyan Amrabat in the 86th minute, his fifth and last change.
Soon after, Martial’s backheel off Kristoffer Ajer gave United a late equalizer, but the goal was disallowed due to offside.
Three minutes into stoppage time, McTominay in the center received the ball after Garnacho had dribbled past two Brentford players, and his shot struck the back of the net to give his team a victory.
Unwilling to settle for a draw, United continued surging forward, with Martial coming close to scoring when his grounded shot was saved by Strakosha.
Seconds before the final whistle, McTominay proved himself as Ten Hag’s super sub as his header put United in front.
While there was plenty to criticize about United’s performance throughout the match, McTominay’s late brace provided Ten Hag’s men plenty of reason to celebrate as a two-match losing streak in all competitions came to an end