It’s never a great sign when the producer of a broadcaster flips from a close-up reaction shot of a player to a wide image of someone bearing down on goal with no-one anywhere near him. Something has definitely gone wrong.
The individual in question presumably, and quite reasonably, thought Matheus Cunha’s frustration at not being awarded a free-kick after Diogo Dalot’s poor pass spoiled a very presentable opportunity on the break for Manchester United would make for better TV than whatever might happen from Jordan Henderson’s hoof forward.
They couldn’t have predicted the electric shock Harry Maguire appeared to be subjected to as his absurdly tardy and ill-advised decision to play offside saw him jump forward in vain, as Igor Thiago charged toward the United goal to create a delightful 30-yard gap between the pair by the time the cameras caught up.
It was some strike. The sort of f***-it finish that would end up in row Z 99 times out of 100 as Thiago half-volleyed the bouncing ball in off the stanchion.
And after Ruben Amorim’s worrying suggestion that Bryan Mbeumo is “different” to the rest of his teammates as he doesn’t immediately catastrophise after going behind, the summer signing was powerless to a collective sh*tting of the bed from the pessimistic Red Devils which ensued for the next 15 minutes and barely abated for the rest of the game.
READ MORE: Man Utd lose again: The disgraceful Premier League table since Ruben Amorim arrived
The widely condemned Altay Bayindir did indeed look like the “only line of defence”, as observed by commentator Darren Fletcher, with the Turkey international making two excellent saves in quick succession to deny Sepp van den Berg and then Nathan Collins, as United’s work on set pieces in the warm-up looked only to have confused them. Brentford were first to every long throw-in or corner delivered into the box. And to balls smashed out from the back.
Thiago is a big lad, and there’s no great shame in losing an aerial battle to him, but there absolutely is in allowing him to chest the ball down to a teammate under no pressure from a ball punted from at least 60 yards. It was pathetic from Mattihjs de Ligt, as was his failure to then track Thiago into the box as he tapped the ball in to double Brentford’s lead.
His United teammates could have helped him out of a bind, but didn’t, with Manuel Ugarte, Maguire, Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw the firefighters with their d*cks in their hands.
And in a clear example of the fragile confidence at United, after a very solid start to the season, certainly compared to last, De Ligt crumbled, misplacing passes, misjudging the flight of the ball and conceding needless free-kicks. We particularly enjoyed that bit when he air kicked and fell over in his own box.
Premier League table since Amorim arrival
We didn’t see any great uptick in forward fluency as United’s £200m forward trio started together for the first time. Link-up between Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha ended with either a poor final pass or a timid effort from one or the other until Cunha’s cross for Mbeumo led to the United penalty. And while Peter Crouch claimed Benjamin Sesko’s goal was an example of his “commitment”, it is undeniably funny that he needed three shots to score from inside the six-yard box.
Manchester United may well have had the most shots (79), created the most chances (60) and accrued the most expected goals (9.7) in the Premier League after the first five games, but it never really felt as though the Brentford goal was under any great pressure.
READ MORE: Who will be the next Man Utd manager if Ruben Amorim is sacked?
Amorim was proved right in sticking with Bayindir, who made another brilliant save to deny Dango Ouattara and keep his side in the game midway through the second half, but the space Outtara found himself in on the penalty spot begs the question as to why he continues to pick Manuel Ugarte.
Kobbie Mainoo could be just as late in tracking back as the Uruguayan in such a situation, but also probably wouldn’t be, and wouldn’t either give the ball away or play a pass sideways or backwards whenever he has possession.
And as predicted when the team news was announced, Amorim will face some difficult questions as to why he’s dropped Leny Yoro for the last two games after what looked to be a very assured start to the season. Both his speed and ability to progress the ball would have very useful here, and surely an improvement on what any of Maguire, De Ligt or Shaw provided.
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We thoroughly look forward to the PGMOL apology to Manchester United for somehow failing to advise Craig Pawson to even look at the pitch-side monitor as Nathan Collins denied Mbeumo one of the clearest goalscoring opportunities imaginable, particularly as the time it took to make that wrong decision contributed to an interminable wait for Bruno Fernandes to take the penalty which he then missed, as some excellent substitution sh*thousery from Keith Andrews made it a five-minute delay.
United still had 15 minutes including stoppage time to draw level against a side which has dropped more points (8) from winning positions than any other team in the Premier League this season, but it was Brentford who added to their lead, with substitute Mathias Jensen combining with Yehor Yarmolyuk on the break before smashing the ball past Bayindir.
Joe Cole described Manchester United as “abysmal” after the final whistle, but refused to pin the blame on Amorim, instead claiming it’s the old “culture of the club” problem rearing its head again.
But f*** that. This is on Amorim. He picked the wrong team, his formation and tactics don’t work, and his players crumble at the merest hint of a hardship. If this isn’t the worst team in Manchester United history, it’s surely the easiest to play against. The best the fans can hope for is more false dawns under a manager not fit for purpose.
