Manchester United were denied a smash-and-grab victory after Mason Mount scored his first goal for the club in second-half stoppage time as Kristoffer Ajer netted a 99th-minute equaliser in a dramatic finale on Saturday night.
The Bees couldn’t open the scoring despite dominating the first half and out-shot the Red Devils by 31 shots to ten in total but no breakthrough came until two goals arrived in the space of four minutes.
The result sees Man Utd lose more ground on top-four rivals Aston Villa and Tottenham, while Brentford remain without a win since February and are only five points above the Premier League relegation zone.
How the game unfolded
Brentford headed into Saturday night’s fixture without a victory since February, while Man Utd were in need of three more points having seen Tottenham and Aston Villa both earlier win in the race for Champions League qualification.
The two sides traded jabs in the opening stages but the Bees soon started enjoying chances of greater quality. Yoane Wissa squeezed a ball through for the onrushing Ivan Toney, whose shot beat Andre Onana but bounced back off the woodwork.
The frame of Man Utd‘s goal was rattled once again shortly after the half-hour mark. A short corner was eventually floated to the back post where Mathias Jorgensen headed an effort onto the top of the bar.
Toney threatened again from a long ball over the top and skipped towards the area on the counter, but the England forward’s shot soared over the target.
It was tough watching for Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag, with his side’s only shot on target in the first half coming from a hopeful Marcus Rashford pop from distance. The visiting defence was carved open regularly, with one occasion seeing Vitaly Janelt play in Mads Roerslev. His ball found Wissa, but his acrobatic effort was wayward.
Brentford finally hit the target when Keane Lewis-Potter met a cross, though it was gathered easily enough by Onana.
The Red Devils might have nicked an undeserved lead at the start of the second half shortly after Wissa dragged a shot wide. Bruno Fernandes threaded in Rasmus Hojlund, but the Danish striker saw his drive towards goal brilliantly flicked past the post by Mark Flekken.
Onana responded with two saves as Brentford pressed again in search of an opener. Yegor Yarmolyuk tested the Cameroonian shot-stopper with a low effort before he quickly denied Lewis-Potter’s follow up.
He was beaten when Wissa’s volley careered towards goal, but it instead shaved the woodwork once again. Toney then thought he’d volleyed Brentford into the lead but the offside flag went up quickly and the decision was upheld by VAR.
A free-kick punted forward by Flekken caused Man Utd’s backline all sorts of bother as substitute Bryan Mbeumo nearly took advantage of the commotion, only to see his strike hit the bar.
Brentford’s winless run has seen them slip down the table and closer to the relegation zone and they had only themselves to blame as the game ticked towards full-time without a breakthrough. It looked like they were to be punished for their wastefulness as substitute Mount made his first major contribution in a Man Utd shirt.
The former Chelsea midfielder, who has struggled with injury throughout his debut campaign at Old Trafford, arrived onto Casemiro’s pass and fired his shot beyond Flekken into the far corner.
That goal looked to have stolen Man Utd all three points in the 96th minute, but instead Brentford were level moments later. Toney brought down a long ball and squared it across the box for Ajer, who slammed home to finally break United’s resistance.
After 14 minutes of second-half stoppage time, the full-time whistle blew to cap an entertaining game that ended with a result that suited neither team.
GK: Mark Flekken – 7/10 – Reacted brilliantly to divert Hojlund’s strike away from goal.
CB: Mathias Jorgensen – 7/10 – Nearly opened the scoring with a header. Robust at the back, winning ten aerial duels.
CB: Kristoffer Ajer – 8/10 – Not given much of an examination by Man Utd’s attackers and kept his composure to earn his side a point with his goal.
CB: Nathan Collins – 6/10 – Made some decent recoveries but wasted possession on occasion.
RWB: Mads Roerslev – 6/10 – Got behind Wan-Bissaka often enough but couldn’t always find any meaningful end product.
CM: Yegor Yarmolyuk – 6/10 – Got three shots away during his 71 minutes on the pitch. Loose with the ball.
CM: Mathias Jensen – 7/10 – Carved out some wonderful openings but his side couldn’t take advantage.
CM: Vitaly Janelt – 8/10 – Kept winning duels against Man Utd midfielders, breaking up play and setting Brentford on their way in attack.
LWB: Keane Lewis-Potter – 6/10 – Might have netted on another day with some more efficient finishing.
ST: Ivan Toney – 7/10 – Took shot after shot – nine in total – without much success before finally teeing up Ajer for the equaliser.
ST: Yoane Wissa – 6/10 – Like Toney, hit the woodwork and couldn’t capitalise on the hosts’ dominance on the night.
Substitutes
Bryan Mbeumo (71′ for Wissa) – 6/10 – Another Brentford player to hit the woodwork.
Mikkel Damsgaard (71′ for Yarmolyuk) – 6/10
Neal Maupay (87′ for Roerslev) – N/A
Saman Ghoddos (87′ for Lewis-Potter) – N/A
Subs not used: Frank Onyeka, Kim Ji-soo, Ryan Trevitt, Shandon Baptiste, Thomas Strakosha (GK)
Manager
Thomas Frank – 6/10 – Brentford did more than enough to claim all three points but couldn’t capitalise on their vast spells of superiority.
GK: Andre Onana – 7/10 – Made a number of saves throughout proceedings to keep Man Utd level.
RB: Diogo Dalot – 7/10 – Had some tough moments against Lewis-Potter but also showed some class in possession.
CB: Victor Lindelof – 7/10 – Was often the United player clearing danger but it was all a bit hectic at the back.
CB: Raphael Varane – 5/10 – Didn’t look too sharp and eventually came off at half-time.
LB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7/10 – His defensive qualities were helpful out wide, even though Man Utd kept conceding chances through the middle.
CM: Scott McTominay – 5/10 – Didn’t get the chance to show off his goalscoring instincts and was given a lot of grief by Janelt and Jensen.
CM: Kobbie Mainoo – 6/10 – Dribbled past a little too easily but remains cool as anything on the ball and drifted past opposing midfielders when given the chance.
RW: Alejandro Garnacho – 5/10 – Had to do more tracking back than attacking and came off without making much of an impact.
AM: Bruno Fernandes – 7/10 – Picked out some smart passes and was at the heart of anything positive United managed going forward.
LW: Marcus Rashford – 6/10 – Wasn’t as direct as in recent weeks and had to go through large spells without the ball as Brentford dominated.
ST: Rasmus Hojlund – 6/10 – Had one effort well saved by Flekken but otherwise was left chasing scraps.
Substitutes
Harry Maguire (46′ for Varane) – 6/10 – Made plenty of clearances at the back after replacing Varane.
Antony (59′ for Garnacho) – 6/10 – Got some shots away and looked more threatening than usual on the break.
Lisandro Martinez (69′ for Lindelof) – 5/10
Mason Mount (80′ for Rashford) – 7/10 – Bagged his first Man Utd goal but somehow his side couldn’t hold on to take the points.
Casemiro (80′ for Mainoo) – 7/10 – Provided the assist for Mount with a precise pass.
Subs not used: Christian Eriksen, Sofyan Amrabat, Tom Heaton (GK), Willy Kambwala
Manager
Erik ten Hag – 4/10 – Man Utd haemorrhaged chances throughout their trip to Brentford and were beyond fortunate to go ahead through Mount. But they couldn’t even keep that lead, instead letting in a late equaliser.
Player of the match: Vitaly Janelt (Brentford)
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