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Brentford vs Manchester United: Bees hammer Red Devils 4-0

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Brentford handed Manchester United a shockingly heavy defeat in West London, battering the visitors 4-0 for a famous victory in Bees history.

Brentford beat Manchester United in stunning fashion to secure their first top-flight victory over the Red Devils since 1937.

The 85-year wait was worth it for the Bees.

WATCH FULL MATCH REPLAY

In sweltering conditions in west London the hosts were 4-0 up after 35 minutes as horrible errors from David de Gea led to goals for Josh Dasilva and Mathias Jensen. Ben Mee and Bryan Mbuemo then added a goal each and Erik ten Hag looked stunned on the sidelines.

The win means Brentford have four points from their opening two games of the season and as good as they were, the bigger story is United losing their first two games of the season to Brighton and Brentford.

Erik ten Hag has become the first Man United manager since 1921 (101 years) to lose his first two games in charge in a season. The records are stacking up for United. And they’re not good ones.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]


What we learned from Brentford vs Manchester United

United are in bigger trouble than we thought: Where on earth do we start with this start to the season? Two shambolic displays against Brighton and Brentford, especially defensively, and it appears United’s squad is severely lacking confidence and have been left scarred by their shocking finish to last season. That is going to take a long time to fix. If it can be fixed with this group of players. It probably can’t be fixed.

Ronaldo needs to leave, fast: He had his hands on his hips more times in the first half than I’ve had a pie and a pint (that is very, very often) and Ronaldo just doesn’t want to be there. Whenever United made a mistake the camera panned to him, obviously, and the reaction was one of pure disgust. Ronaldo doesn’t want to be at United and in his first start since his plan to move away this summer collapsed, it was evident he cannot operate in this Erik ten Hag system. The sooner Ronaldo leaves United the better.

Bees are a vibey team, especially at home: Brentford have beaten Arsenal at home, drawn with Liverpool and Tottenham and have now hammered Manchester United. When they are in a groove like this, they are hard to stop. Thomas Frank’s energy and enthusiasm is seen in his team and they are the ultimate momentum team. When the big boys arrive at the Gtech Community Stadium, they know they’re in for one heck of a scrap.

This actually isn’t Erik ten Hag’s fault: There was a calmness about Erik ten Hag as he stood on the sidelines in the first half as his side crumbled on the pitch. After a few months of training sessions and only a couple of new signings, can he really be blamed for the mess he’s inherited? Peter Drury’s commentary summed it up best: ‘What has he gotten himself into?’ Erik ten Hag is thinking exactly that right now.


Tactical focus

The glaring defensive errors were obvious but it was the lack of bite in midfield, the standoffishness of the entire United team and the way their full backs were left exposed which really stood out. Rashford and Sancho left Shaw and Dalot hanging and Brentford took full advantage of it with Toney and Mbuemo pulling wide and dragging Maguire and Martinez all over the place. It was a masterclass of pulling defenders into areas they didn’t want to be in and then ruthlessly making the most of it. Brentford pressed United high, early and often and the Red Devils had no answer at all for it.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]


Stars of the show

Ivan Toney: Ran United’s defense all over the place and set up Mbuemo with a lovely assist. The talisman.

Mathias Jensen: Pressed superbly as he scored the second, dictated the tempo and whipped a free kick just wide. Classy display in central midfield.

What’s next?

Brentford have a huge west London derby at Fulham on Saturday, Aug. 20, while Manchester United have the small matter of playing against bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday, Aug. 22. The latter could get very ugly.


How to watch Brentford vs Manchester United live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 12:30pm ET, SaturdayTV Channel: NBCOnline: Stream via NBCSports.com


Brentford vs Manchester United live analysis! - By Joe Prince-Wright at the Gtech Community Stadium

FULL TIME: Brentford 4-0 Manchester United - A historic win for Brentford, their first for over 85 years in the top-flight against Manchester United. For United, well, this was horrific and underlines just how much work Erik ten Hag has to do.

The United fans are making a bit of noise in the corner as they have to generate their own entertainment. Eriksen did whip in a cross which Ronaldo whiffed on about 10 yards out. And that sums up United’s day quite nicely. Just over 10 minutes to go.

United are doing their best damage limitation job here, as Eriksen nods a free header straight at David Raya. Brentford don’t have to take risks and are waltzing to victory here.

Second half is underway. Not that Manchester United fans want to hear that. Ronaldo heads wide, much to the delight of the home fans.

Triple substitution at half time for United. Varane, McTominay and Malacia on for Martinez, Fred and Shaw. Erik ten Hag wishes he could make 11 subs...

GOALLL! 4-0 to Brentford. This is not a joke. Toney slots in Mbeumo and this place goes wild. I cannot believe I am typing this. Brentford 4-0 Manchester United.

GOALLL! 3-0. Ben Mee. He heads home from close range after United fail to clear. This is chaos. What a scoreline.

GOALLL! Brentford are 2-0 up. A horrendous pass from David de Gea puts Christian Eriksen under pressure and Jensen wins the ball back in United’s box and slots home. The stadium has gone bonkers.

Brentford having a real go now. They smell blood. Harry Maguire booked and Jensen whips the dangerous free kick just wide.

GOALLL! Brentford 1-0 up and that is a proper howler from David de Gea. Josh Dasilva with a low shot which somehow squirms past the United goalkeeper as time seemed to stand still. Horrible moment for David de Gea. This place is bouncing now. The last thing Erik ten Hag wanted...

KICK OFF: We are underway here in Brentford. United have started okay with Marcus Rashford surging forward and finding Cristiano Ronaldo who goes down looking for a free kick. He didn’t get one and was not happy. At all.

What a noise here in Brentford! This place is rocking. Here we go.

The sprinklers are on ahead of kick off as the sun continues to beat down.

Hello from sweltering west London! What a scorcher here, as a heat wave surges across England this weekend. I’ll have analysis from what is hopefully a red-hot clash here between Brentford and Manchester United, as the latter really need a piece of this glorious sunshine to brighten up the negative vibes swirling around them. Okay, I’ll stop with the weather puns. For now...


Key storylines

Brentford have once again recruited smartly, signing Aaron Hickey, Keane Lewis-Potter and Mikkel Damsgaard to strengthen their squad. Yes, losing Christian Eriksen (who is now at Manchester United) was a blow, but the team unit that Thomas Frank has created is extremely strong. Brentford are determined to prove they weren’t just a one-season wonder in the Premier League and getting off to a fast start to the season was so crucial to their eventual 13th place finish last term. The Bees have caused problems for the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool at home in the past and they will hope to do the same against United, although they did lose heavily to United on both occasions last season.

Manchester United have so many storylines swirling around them on a daily basis it is hard to keep track. And most of them aren’t positive. From Cristiano Ronaldo wanting to leave and now being stuck at the club to Erik ten Hag tasting defeat in his first game in charge and the botched attempts to sign Marko Arnautovic (fan unrest reportedly brought that deal to its knees), it remains a bit of a mess. On the pitch Erik ten Hag didn’t see many positives as his side were dominated by Brighton and deserved to lose their opening game. One of the big question marks is around their defense and whether or not captain Harry Maguire will start with Raphael Varane waiting in the wings.

Also, the summer-long pursuit of Frenkie de Jong seems to have been fruitless so Adrien Rabiot is the man United now want to sign to dictate the tempo of their play from midfield. It seems like it will not be smooth sailing in Erik ten Hag’s early days in charge and this trip to Brentford has an upset alert flashing all over it. It also seems like Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, will come back into the starting lineup to try and spark United into life with some of his trademark magic.


In-form players to keep an eye on

Bryan Mbuemo and Ivan Toney continue to look a real handful and the latter scored at Leicester last time out. Keep an eye on new signing Keane Lewis-Potter as he looks a real talent.

For United, well, nobody is in decent form based on their opener but the likes of Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford will be hoping to try and bring some of their decent preseason form to the PL.


Brentford team news, injuries, lineup

The Bees have a bit of a defensive injury crisis as center backs Kristoffer Ajer and Ethan Pinnock are both out. Sergi Canos is also out with a hamstring issue.


Manchester United team news, injuries, lineup

Brandon Williams is out, while Anthony Martial is still out after suffering a knee injury. Facundo Pellistri is also struggling with an ankle sprain and Victor Lindelof is out.



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