Mason Mount and Kristoffer Ajer traded goals in the depths of second-half stoppage time as Manchester United nicked a point from Brentford despite being comfortably second-best. Erik ten Hag’s side were fortunate to come away from west London with a 1-1 draw as the Bees were left to regret their spurned opportunities, but the hosts ultimately avoided disaster after Mount looked to have scored the winner with his first Red Devils goal. Here, Express Sport takes you through four key talking points from the Premier League contest…
Ten Hag gives Fernandes a taste of his own medicine
Bruno Fernandes is not the type of captain to shy away from confrontation. United goalkeeper Andre Onana found that out for himself in the first half, when a loose kick saw him berated by the Portuguese immediately afterwards, and again once the ball went out of play.
But Fernandes isn’t immune from getting a dressing down himself. An irate Erik ten Hag, clearly not pleased with what he was watching, barked for his skipper to come over to the touchline before sternly dishing out instructions on how to spur things along.
They fell on deaf ears until the 96th minute, when Mount scored on only his second appearance since November. But Ajer made sure United were punished for their lacklustre display with a 99th-minute strike of his own.
Familiar problems surface
United have let so-called lesser teams play with total freedom against them in recent weeks. Everton rained 23 shots down on Onana’s goal at Old Trafford earlier this month, while Luton Town managed 22 at Kenilworth Road in February.
Brentford had similar joy on their home patch this weekend, racking up 31 efforts in total while United only just made it into single digits. In fact, the 34 touches the Bees registered inside the visitors’ penalty area in the first half was the most they have managed in any half since they were promoted to the Premier League.
Put simply, Ten Hag and his tactical set-up has a lot to answer for.
Toney rescued floundering audition
Ivan Toney is widely expected to leave Brentford this summer, and United are among the sides rumoured to be in the hunt for his signature. While the 28-year-old was heavily involved at the Gtech Community Stadium, not all of his contributions were positive.
Toney could only find the post after being played clean through by Yoane Wissa in the first half, and he blazed wastefully over the bar just a few minutes later after breezing past Victor Lindelof. On a night where big chances would have decided the game, the Brentford man would have rued his missed chances had he not popped up with a crucial assist for Ajer at the death.
