Man Utd's Nightmare First Half Leaves Ruben Amorim Clutching His Head
Ruben Amorim confessed before Manchester United's journey to Brentford that even he was uncertain about what type of display his team would deliver—it's safe to say the opening 45 minutes at the Gtech Community Stadium wouldn't have matched his expectations.
The Portuguese coach, who has been at the helm for nearly 11 months, has presided over a period plagued by errors and unpredictability, causing him to acknowledge that United supporters "don't know what is going to happen in the next game,"—he continued by confessing "to be completely honest, I have an idea, but I don't know how it's going to be and I'm the manager of the team."
Amorim's vision wouldn't have included falling 2–0 behind against Brentford within just 20 minutes, but that's precisely what unfolded as Igor Thiago netted a rapid double to heap additional pressure on the Red Devils.
Poor Defensive Display Leaves Amorim Frustrated
United had been progressing toward Brentford's box when Matheus Cunha lost possession following a strong tackle. What ensued was among the simplest goals any Premier League team will register this campaign.
Jordan Henderson launched the ball long and clear over the defense, somehow locating Thiago in vast amounts of space in United's territory. He controlled the ball skillfully, moved toward Altay Bayındır's goal and unleashed a superb left-footed strike into the net via the upright—the Turkish keeper stationary as the ball sailed past him.
Bayındır's positioning for the long ball will face intense examination, but so will Harry Maguire's defending. The sole defender in United's half when the ball was played forward, he inexplicably permitted Thiago to remain onside, with his positioning and balance completely incorrect as Henderson delivered the pass over the top.
He was left chasing back—Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw absent from the scene—but couldn't manage enough to disturb Thiago.
If that defensive work wasn't poor enough, United nearly conceded twice more as Bayındır stopped two headers from Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins—the Brentford center-backs under minimal pressure as they climbed highest on both instances.
Moments afterward, De Ligt was caught off guard by another aerial ball, and Thiago linked with Kevin Schade before the German's cutback was fumbled by Bayındır and the former reacted faster than Luke Shaw to slide home. Amorim's reaction on the sideline spoke volumes.
Sesko Nets Maiden Man Utd Strike
The 4–0 loss endured by Erik ten Hag in August 2022 returned to many observers' thoughts, with United once again appearing completely inadequate. Fortunately, they burst into action to pull themselves back into the match.
Summer acquisition Benjamin Šeško required three attempts to finally blast beyond Caoimhin Kelleher from short range, but the 22-year-old did eventually fire into the net to capitalize on what had been some very poor goalkeeping from the Irishman—Bryan Mbeumo's simple presence sufficient to make the former Liverpool keeper barely touch Patrick Dorgu's delivery.
Cunha had an attempt deflected wide as United concluded the half in a more encouraging manner, yet the story after 45 minutes was how the 13-time Premier League champions had undermined themselves once again with careless, chaotic defending. The goals allowed made it 52 goals conceded from Amorim's 33 matches in command—far too many for a side that holds any ambition of finishing in the top half of the standings let alone anything more.