Bees sting United as more pressure piles on Amorim
Igor Thiago scored twice and Caoimhin Kelleher saved a second-half penalty from Bruno Fernandes as Brentford recorded an impressive 3-1 victory over Manchester United.
Mathias Jensen's stunner made sure of the points for Brentford in the fifth minute of stoppage-time, with the outcome of an entertaining contest having remained in the balance.
United boss Ruben Amorim was searching for back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since taking charge of the Red Devils, but the same issues occurred here as his team failed to sparkle in attack, leaving it lingering in the bottom half of the table.
Brentford hit the front early on when Jordan Henderson's raking ball from well inside his own half picked out Thiago racing clear in behind.
After Harry Maguire had been unsuccessful in his attempt to catch the Brentford striker offside, Thiago unleashed a brilliant strike into the roof of the net.
The Brazilian then doubled his and Brentford's tally in the 20th minute after Kevin Schade's blistering run down the right saw Altay Bayindir spill the ball into his path.
The Red Devils soon reduced the deficit through Benjamin Sesko's first United goal, and the visitors had a chance to seal a share of the spoils after the break.
Bryan Mbeumo, on his first return to Brentford, was pulled back inside the box by James Collins, with the Bees captain escaping a red card after a video assistant referee (VAR) check for the denial of a goal-scoring opportunity.
But Fernandes saw his spot-kick brilliantly saved by Kelleher down to his left, and Jensen then struck shortly after coming off the bench with a fizzing shot from distance.
The result sees Brentford move up to 11th in the Premier League table, level on seven points with United but two places above the Red Devils because of a superior goal difference.
United is now winless in its past eight Premier League away games having drawn two and lost six, its longest run since between March and October 2019, when it drew three and lost five.
Amorim accepted that his side deserved nothing from this match.
“We didn't control the game,” he said.
“We played the game of Brentford. First balls, second balls, set-pieces. All the crucial moments were against us. It's tough to lose again but we need to think about the next one.
"The first goal was a long ball. We worked on that in the week, and on set-pieces. We knew the long balls were coming and after one touch, they had the opportunity. We need to do better.
"We didn't play our game. We only had control for some moments. But it was more or less all the same. We need to play our game, not the opponent's, but they were stronger on that."
Amorim also accepted the already unbearable pressure on him will likely increase further after this latest setback.
"It is always the same to lose at this club, it hurts a lot. We need to think about the next one," he said.
United’s next match is in a week’s time when it will host Sunderland before the next international break.
