Brentford 1, Manchester United 1
Kristoffer Ajer scored a 99th minute equaliser to cancel out Mason Mount’s first goal for Manchester United at Brentford.
The result left Brentford five points clear of the drop zone while United remained in 6th – eight points behind Tottenham in 5th and 11 points (with a game in hand) behind Aston Villa in the final Champions League spot.
The Bees had dominated the game from start to finish – firing in 31 shots on United’s goal but Mount’s 96th minute strike looked to have handed the Reds an unlikely win before Ajer grabbed a point with a late finish.
The Reds needed a win to challenge for Champions League football next term but ended up lucky to escape Brentford with a draw.
United manager Erik Ten Hag was fuming after United gave away a winning position so late in the game despite being second best for most of the game.
He said: “If you are winning you shouldn’t give it away.
“We are normally strong in such situations, it’s disappointing.
“I congratulate the team for hanging in the game but we had to get it over the line.”
He added that United were slow to get back to their normal selves after players were away on international duty, adding:
“We were slow, not good at defending second balls, and they were more energetic.
“Even when we don’t play well we have to win the game, and we almost did.
“After the international break the levels are not as high as before, we needed a minimum of a half to get back into our system.”
But there was still hope for Champions League qualification – with an 80% chance that 5th place would be sufficient for qualification to Europe’s top table next season.
He said: “We will keep fighting for the Champions League – this could be a very good point in the end.”
Embed from Getty ImagesUnited were unchanged from the side that beat Liverpool 4-3 at Old Trafford before the international break and aimed to use the victory over the old enemy to kick start a late run to Champions League qualification.
But the buccaneering United that found a way to beat Liverpool in their FA Cup classic encounter before the international break must have got lost on the way to the Brentford Community Stadium as the Reds side who turned up were back to the fragile team who have faced the third most shots on goal in the Premier League this term.
For the first time since 2015 Brentford recorded over 30 shots on goal – and the most that the Bees had had in the Premier League – and managed 87 touches in the United box without reward until the injury time drama.
And by the same token, United joined Sheffield United as the only sides to concede 30 or more goals in more than one Premier League game this season.
Brentford hit the post twice in the first half through Ivan Toney and Zanka while substitute Bryan Mbeumbo struck the crossbar with 11 minutes to go as Brentford became only the latest side to pepper the frail United defence with shots on goal.
The Reds were indebted to Andre Onana who once again had to face waves of attacks from an opposition who were able to cut through the players in front of him at will.
Ivan Toney was correctly ruled offside by the assistant referee after 73 minutes following a smart finish after he ran onto a cross into his path.
The Reds will worry about losing Victor Lindelof to injury late in the game but the Swede was replaced by Lisandro Martinez who himself was on the road to recovery after his own injury woes this term.
But in the 6th minute of injury time it was a Mason Mount – who had himself come off the bench on the road back to recovery – who popped up to score an incredibly unlikely winner after Brentford failed to clear a rare United attack and Casemiro slipped the ball to the forgotten midfielder who sent the travelling fans into raptures with clean finish from 11 yards out to record his first goal for the Reds.
But the Bees had the last word as a 99th minute equaliser, smashed through a forest of bodies from 7 yards out by Kristoffer Ajer after some great hold up play and a cutback by Toney who atoned for his offside goal earlier by setting up the equaliser.
It was the second goal in as many games for the Norwegian and the least that Brentford deserved after hammering on the United door for the whole game.