Pressure on Ten Hag eases as United turn it on in game of two halves

UNITED came from behind to beat Brentford at Old Trafford for the second year in a row in the Premier League, buying Erik ten Hag some breathing room and ending a run of five games without a win.

- TYRONE MARSHALL

United fell behind in controversial circumstances. In firsthalf stoppage time, Ethan Pinnock headed in a corner while Matthijs de Ligt was off the pitch receiving treatment for an earlier injury.

Ten Hag and Ruud van Nistelrooy were both booked for protesting the decision, but it sparked a response from United, and goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund earned United their third league win of the season.

They had come into this fixture on a run of five without a win and with Ten Hag under mounting pressure, but their second-half performance merited victory.

■ HOJLUND'S FERNANDES GESTURE
For an hour, this was another disappointing afternoon for Bruno Fernandes.

He is struggling to find his rhythm this season and looked like a player who knew almost everything he tried wasn't working.

He disdainfully slapped a pass back to Andre Onana from the halfway line late in the first half, causing frustration to tumble from the stands.

Fernandes is often wasteful in possession, but that is his game; he tries highrisk passes worth the pay-off because his success rate is usually worth it. So it 6 proved just after the hour mark. His cute back-heel to Rasmus Hojlund for the Dane's goal was the kind of touch that could have easily gone wrong and been intercepted or had too much on it. Instead, it and was perfect, perfect, Hojlund's finish after that was a delight.