Once a manager is in a death spiral, it is nearly impossible to recover. At Manchester United, this situation occurs frequently. You know you’re in that zone when there’s no discernible structure on the pitch, no cohesion between the players and seemingly no authority from the coaching staff.
Considering Erik ten Hag is only two games into his Premier League career, let’s be kind and say we’re not at that point yet. But let’s also be clear that he is in danger of entering this phase of his career in a few weeks. He will lose heavily against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday week and will struggle to regain balance in a listed ship. The suspicion will be that it is already holed below the waterline.
Manchester United were as bad as they have ever been in the modern era here at Brentford. You’d probably have to go back to the 1973-74 relegation season to find anything this humiliating. They lost 4-0 at Brighton last season under Ralf Rangnick, but even that wasn’t as humiliating as this one. At least they were in the game until half-time on that occasion. They are at the bottom of the table.
Things went from bad to worse for Manchester United, who suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat away to Brentford.
United could not have got off to a worse start as David de Gea let Josh Dasilva’s goal slip through his fingers after ten minutes.
De Gea’s error set the tone for what was to come in the first half as Manchester United collapsed against the Bees.
The result leaves the Red Devils at the bottom of the Premier League table with zero points after their previous defeat to Brentford
Mathias Jensen dispossessed Christian Eriksen after De Gea’s poor pass to put the Bees 2-0 up after just 18 minutes.
That said, this take is a little unfair to Brentford and Thomas Frank, who were excellent. They had a plan and executed it perfectly. They bothered United to come forward with an urgent plan that was coherent and executed with gusto. They countered the attack with incisiveness and ferocity. And when they need to slow down the game in the scorching heat, they did so calmly and confidently.
United can do none of the above and yet the truth is that a competent Premier League would have given Brentford a better game. Twice we’ve seen ten Hag’s United now, against what would be called the lesser lights of the Premier League. On both occasions they have been outplayed, played and looked below the standards of their opponents. Here, Brentford were miles better.
Little Brentford, who would barely have registered as a dot on the horizon in the Sir Alex Ferguson era, as they struggled in the lower reaches. But football has a glorious state of unseating the complacent and upsetting the powerful. United look like a team that modern football left behind. They seem to think that lobbying doesn’t apply to them. By contrast, Brentford are a team built for modern football, with smart recruitment, proper application of data and big heart.
Ben Mee scored Brentford’s third goal of the game when he headed home after Ivan Toney had headed into the box from a corner.
Bryan Mbeumo capped a brilliant counter-attack to slot the ball home as he celebrated with top scorer Dasilva
DATA OF THE MATCH
Brentford (5-3-2): Streak; Henry, Mee, Jansson, Roerslev, Hickey (Bech Sorenson 80); Jensen (Baptiste 74), Norgaard (Onyeka 80) Dasilva (Janelt 62); Toney, Mbeumo (Wissa 74)
Subs not used: Ghoddos, Strakosha, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard
Goals: Dasilva 10, Jensen 18, Mee 30, Mbeumo 35
manager; Thomas Frank
Man United (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Shaw (Malaysia 46), Martinez (Varane 46), Maguire, Dalot; Fred (McTominay 46), Eriksen; Rashford, Fernandes, Sancho (field 60); Ronaldo
Subs not used: Heaton, Wan-Bissaka, Garner, Ferreyra
Subs: Maguire, McTominay, Rashford, Fernandes
Manager: Erik ten Hag
The G-tech Stadium, as it’s now known, may not seem like an intimidating place, and yet when it’s packed with Brentford fans close to the pitch roaring their team, it can tear a team apart. United collapsed. First David De Gea, letting in the softest of early goals. Luke Shaw, Fred and Lisandro Martinez then fell to pieces losing their nerve as Brentford tormented them with error after error.
At 2-0, ten Hag had a chance to rectify the situation, with a drinks break introduced to mitigate the extreme heat. He is not a man who exudes a huge presence among the players. He seemed to be doing a few clam stitches. They seemed to be greeted with shrugs and the odd nod. Ronaldo called out to someone. And after ten minutes, after the tactical adjustments, they were losing 4-0.
The game was already decided in the nine minutes, the central themes were amplified in the first goal. Mathias Jensen, excellent throughout, pounced on Ronaldo in possession. The Portuguese superstar felt he was fouled, but Brentford were simply all over United. He fed Josh DaSilva who, given time and space, decided to do so. Indeed, it should have been a simple save, but De Gea somehow managed to leave her writhing in his arms. It was an inauspicious time. De Gea generally seems to blame Harry Maguire when things go wrong. On this occasion it was all him.
Ten minutes later United looked to have lost their nerve. Less than ten Hags seem to think they are Johan Cruyff-era Ajax playing from the back. They opted to throw a short free-kick to De Gea, who in turn opted to pass straight to Shaw, who was clearly under pressure. These players are not gods or safe enough to play like this. Jensen went to Shaw, stealing it and then finding the space to roll the ball into the net.
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the starting line-up but was left frustrated and unable to enter Saturday’s game.
Ronaldo was frustrated with himself in the second half as he had a few headed chances that failed to find the net.
Then came the intervention of ten cups Hag which, if anything, aggravated the situation. One of ten Hag’s key signings has been Lisandro Martinez, a 5’9″ central midfielder. From a deep corner, it was headed past Ivan Toney. It caused mayhem, but the reality was that Ben Mee simply bullied Martinez, in a legitimate sense, into having the touch to give it.
However, Brentford saved the best for last. That they could expose United so easily on the counter-attack was embarrassing for Ten Hag’s tactical set-up. They looked like Sunday league as Brentford simply played quickly from the back to Toney. He took a snap to play Bryan Mbeumo. Shaw had allowed him the wrong side and was never going to allow the left-back to get close to him, and he calmly finished to make it 4-0 to Brentford on 35 minutes.
It was impressive stuff and almost as impressive was the way Brentford controlled the second half. Fred, Shaw, and Martinez were pulled as ten Hag tried to impose some control. However, the game was gone. United, embarrassingly, never had a plan or the wit to break Brentford’s defensive block. They were reduced to abject wide crosses that were invariably inaccurate. On one occasion, Ronaldo ran into one and sent his header wide. He hit the floor in frustration. The crowd jeered. It seemed appropriate. He was raging against the dying light of his career. He was once able to produce team-saving heroics. But not now, not at this age and not in this team.
Toney and Mbuemo caused United’s defense all sorts of problems in the first half with Harry Maguire booked and Lisandro Martinez caught at the break.
Manchester United fans showed their frustration throughout the game and held up banners against the Glazer family
Erik ten Hag has plenty to think about after a miserable performance ahead of a tricky clash against rivals Liverpool
Brentford’s players celebrate after their first top-flight win over Man United since 1936-37
De Gea raises his hands to the Manchester United fans after the game acknowledging his mistakes in the first half
Sportsmail’s Kieran Lynch provided live blog updates on events at the Gtech Community Stadium.