BRENTFORD 4 MANCHESTER UNITED 0
Manchester United suffered a 4-0 defeat against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium, the Reds’ second loss of the new Premier League season.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who made his first start of the campaign, was at the heart of United’s early bid to get in front. He tested David Raya with a dipping shot from 30 yards before things started to go wrong for the Reds.
Josh Dasilva and Mathias Jensen both capitalised on defensive mistakes to put the hosts 2-0 up after 20 minutes. Erik ten Hag watched on as Marcus Rashford looked to stretch play on the left, before Brentford quickly halted any United momentum.
Ben Mee pounced to make it 3-0 on his home debut for the Bees. Bryan Mbeumo then rounded off the first-half onslaught to send Brentford fans wild in the sweltering West London heat.
Ten Hag introduced Raphael Varane, Tyrell Malacia and Scott McTominay to try and wrestle momentum back at the start of the second half. United found more control in possession and created a couple of chances for Ronaldo, who clocked up 90 minutes as he continues to work his way towards full match fitness.
De Gea was called into action with a couple of excellent saves, most notably from a fantastic Rico Henry strike with 10 minutes to go. Christian Eriksen tried an audacious finish at the other end moments later, after smart work from Malacia and Anthony Elanga down United’s left.
Eriksen, who returned to the scene of his brilliant comeback last season, smartly kept possession ticking over in the second half, a period in which United fought hard to grab a consolation goal but were ultimately unable to reduce the painful first-half deficit.
