Brentford 4-3 Manchester United

At Brentford Community Stadium 

Report by Layth Yousif

THOMAS FRANK’S Bees beat United to keep alive their hopes of a late run for a European place after an entertaining game, devalued by the fact Ruben Amorim’s Europa League-chasing Red Devils are quite simply, right now, an abjectly poor side given the club’s rich and illustrious history. 

While Amorim admitted the priority was ensuring key players were fit for Thursday night’s semi-final second leg against Athletic Bilbao, with a place in the final in the same Basque city virtually assured after an unexpected 3-0 victory last time out, that was still no excuse for such a disjointed display from arguably the worst United side since before Sir Alex Ferguson lifted his first trophy back in 1990. 

United boss Amorim named Arsenal youth prodigy Chido Obi in his starting XI. With fellow teenage starlet Harry Amass also picked in the line-up, with another academy graduate Tyler Fredricson returns to the team in defence, as the Portuguese made eight changes from Thursday’s win in Bilbao.

Matthijs de Ligt, Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw are also back, while Altay Bayindir starts as goalkeeper.

Bees boss Thomas Frank named the same starting 11 as the one that started Thursday night’s win away at Nottingham Forest, with Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade leading the line. 

With the Bees screening their own — presumably tongue-in-cheek — version of the Star Wars opening on their big screen, with words about their famous 4-0 win against United three years, fuelled by reminding everyone not to underestimate the power of the club, Brentford nearly went 1-0 up in the opening moments through an own goal by captain Luke Shaw, whose header back to Bayindir from a long ball narrowly bobbled the wrong side of the post after the keeper mistakenly advanced to claim.

Moments later a ball whipped into the box saw Brentford attacker Kevin Schade miss connecting, as United once again breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the Bees’ lively start had something to do with the fact that Amorim’s side — at 22 years and 270 days — was the third-youngest side ever named in Premier League history. 

Yet it was Amorim’s side that went ahead in the 14th minute when the visitors capitalised on a poor kick by Bees keeper Mark Flekken, with Kobe Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho dovetailing well, prior to the 20-year-old Madrid-born attacker racing down the left flank, before squaring for Mount to slot home from close range to make it 1-0 to United. 

It was only former Chelsea star Mount’s second goal in United colours, and his first in 13 months, even if both were scored against Brentford, the first coming in a 1-1 draw at the same venue last March. 

Yet, that match saw the Bees dominate throughout, only for Mount to score what United thought was a 96th-minute winner, only to be thwarted by an even later 99th-minute leveller from Kristoffer Ajer. 

This season, Frank’s side staged their recovery far earlier, when Damsgaard fired home at the near post via a deflection of Shaw, after the Bees piled on the pressure in a crowded box to make it 1-1 on 27 minutes. 

Worse was to come for increasingly beleaguered United, when Schade headed home to see the Bees score two goals in six minutes to turn the match around and make it 2-1, with only 33 minutes gone. 

Amorim had seen enough by then and hooked Matthijs de Ligt, to be replaced by Thursday’s hero in Bilbao, Harry Maguire, returning to his place in the heart of the backline in a bid to steady United’s fraught nerves at facing such powerfully incessant attacking from Brentford. 

Still the Bees attacked, with Bayindir saving well from Schade’s drilled shot after the exciting long German attacker cut inside. Quite simply United couldn’t cope with the home side’s intensity, with Manuel Ugarte correctly earning a yellow card after hauling down the rampaging Michael Kayode as the Bees hunted a third. 

The interval came at a good time for Amorim’s side, who could presumably reissue defensive instructions while shuffling his pack, swapping Shaw and Patrick Dorgu for Amad Diallo and Lenny Yoro.

As such United started the second half with Mount testing Flekken, prior to Chido having a tame effort blocked in his first senior start. Which followed a lacklustre opening 45 minutes in which Obi notched a mere eight touches and four passes, in an underwhelming performance. 

It was another United youngster Amass, who fired over the bar on 66 minutes, but Brentford were not to be denied when Schade grabs his second of the game when heading in Bryan Mbeumo’s cross at the near post on 70 minutes. 

The Bees thoroughly deserving their lead against Amorim’s relentlessly underwhelming United side. 

Speaking after the match, Frank, whose side eased into ninth spot, which could see an eighth-place finish seal European football for the first time Brentford’s history. 

The in-form Bees buzzed with intensity, meaning there was worse was to come for the Red Devils, when Yoane Wissa slotted home from close range to make it four the Bees on 74 minutes after VAR confirmed no offside. Even with the Europa League this particular United team are such a poor side amid this proud club’s storied history. 

Garnacho pulled a goal back when he fired past Flekken after neat interplay with former Bee Christian Eriksen on 82 minutes to make it 4-2. 

As the clock ticked down, roared on by their vociferous travelling support singing joyfully about another trip to Bilbao, Amad worked space to fire through Flekken who should have prevented the strike, to make the final score 4-3, in a scoreline that flattered the visitors. 

Not that Amorim and the fans will care a jot with the prospect of lifting silverware at the end of this season — and improbably, a route back into the Champions League.