Man United v Brentford

 Man United v Brentford 

 

 

 KEY MOMENTS 

 Chosen by us for quick acceleration 

 

 Full time 

 Man Utd 1 Brentford 0 

 27 mins 

 GOALS! Rashford puts United ahead from close range (1-0) 

 

  Mike McGrath at Old Trafford 

 

 Of the many changes the Manchester United side have undergone since their humiliation at the hands of Brentford eight months ago, none has been as significant as Marcus puts Rashford back in winning form.  Rashford played  every minute of the 4-0 defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium while United looked shocked and unimaginative. There was even talk of a real possibility of degradation. Rashford, like United that day, looked devastated but returned to his Champions League berths and driver's seat back in Europe's top flight.His winner  took his tally to 28 in a season,  the best return for a United player since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. One of the only problems might be that Erika ten Haga's side are too dependent on the top scorer. 

 

 Rashford was seeded 9th and Wout Weghorst was left off the starting line-up for the first time since his  loan in January. It was a different system for United but  same result and Rashford again proved the difference  for them.

 

 "He was really muscular, he came from the front row and we  used him as a target too," said Ten Hag. "Then he returned to the box where we expect him to  finish. 

 

 "That's true (we're counting on him) but we also  know that other players can score too: Bruno Fernandes, Antony scored, Jadon Sancho can score, Marcel Sabitzer can score What you want as a team is two players who can score more than 12 or 15 goals in a season. 

,

,

,

 Ten Hag made big decisions after losing to Thomas Frank in August, including building his team without Cristiano Ronaldo and placing Harry Maguire on the bench.The biggest compliment the Netherlands manager has received for the current squad is that they are ready to fight to stay in the top four. 

 

 Victory was no formality as United were just a goal clear of their strong opponents, but there was no fall into the kind of rough night they haven't gotten bogged down in recent seasons. When they last  played Brentford, Ten Hag asked them for an extra run to compensate for their opponents' 13.8km extra run. They did it this time, now Ten Hag wants to see those performances away from home as well.