£85k-p/w Man Utd Ace Earned “Standing Ovation” With “Excellent” Brentford Display

Manchester United had to come from behind to defeat in-form Brentford, after two second-half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund sealed all three points – and kept Erik ten Hag’s job safe, at least for another week – for the Red Devils.

With Brentford’s five-game run of scoring inside the first two minutes of a Premier League contest finally coming into the end, they had to wait until the stroke of half-time to get the opener, with defender Ethan Pinnock heading it home off a Mikkel Damsgaard set-piece delivery.

But United would come out for the second-half with a renewed energy, and Garnacho took just two minutes to level the score with what was the young Argentine’s fifth goal of the season, and 20th goal for the club, after he latched onto Marcus Rashford’s ball into the box from midfield.

Hojlund would follow suit, finally getting his 2024-25 Premier League goal tally underway after he finished off a move that involved a clever flick-on from Bruno Fernandes in the build-up for the assist.

Hojlund Finally off the Mark

The Danish forward hasn’t scored in the league for United since last season

Hojlund has been on the receiving end of some criticism for failing to make an impact on goal in his first three league outings, racking up a 5.94 average ranking, per Who Scored.

However, his first league goal of the season secured the win, and all three points, for United, with the 21-year-old putting in his best performance of the 2024-25 campaign to date after he found the back of the net after a clever pass into his feet from his captain, Fernandes.

According to Sofa Score, in his 74 minutes played, he had a 0.35 expected goals (xG) rate, while he attempted three dribbles, two of which were successful.

Furthermore, he completed 14 of his 20 passes, for 70 percent, one of which was considered a key pass.

While he was involved in five ground duels, three of which he won, and 13 aerial duels, he would win just four of those, while he also lost possession 13 times in the game, tied with Fernandes, though his teammate, Rashford, would lose possession more (14). It was certainly a busy performance and sometimes that’s all you can ask for.

And the Man Utd faithful seemed to appreciate it. Speaking from Old Trafford Sky Sports’ presenter Adam Bate revealed:

“Standing ovation for Hojlund. Pinnock will be relieved. He has been excellent.”

Nonetheless, he was praised for his performance up front, with Goal giving him a 7/10 overall rating for his ‘excellent’ build-up play, while the Manchester Evening News gave him a team-high 8/10 – tied with Garnacho – due to him turning his performance around in the second half with some ‘top turns’ and his cool finish over Brentford keeper, Mark Flekken.

With ten Hag surviving another week in charge, his Man Utd side have now climbed up into the top half of the table, where they sit 10th with 11 points on the board.

They face Turkish side Fenerbahçe next in their Europa League clash against former manager José Mourinho, before they take on West Ham United at the London Stadium next weekend.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt, SofaScore, and WhoScored.com – correct as of 19/10/2024.