Brentford v Manchester United LIVE: Premier League result and final score after Ajer’s equaliser
Erik ten Hag’s side look to boost their top four hopes when they visit Thomas Frank’s Bees in the late Premier League kick-off
Kristoffer Ajer’s 99th-minute equaliser salvaged a point for Brentford in a 1-1 Premier League draw with Manchester United on Saturday, denting the Old Trafford club’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Substitute Mason Mount thought he had given United an undeserved and dramatic victory when he slotted home in the 96th minute after Brentford had dominated the game.
But Ajer smashed home Ivan Toney’s cutback from close range three minutes later to give the Bees a point which sees them remain in 15th, five points above the relegation zone.
United remain in sixth, 11 points off fourth-placed Aston Villa and eight off Tottenham Hotspur in fifth, a spot which could be enough for Champions League football next season.
Brentford strike late to deny Manchester United a win they never deserved
An extraordinary game got a dramatic finish when substitute Mason Mount seemed to have stolen an unworthy win for Manchester United, before Kristoffer Ajer smashed a 98th-minute equaliser to ensure Brentford took away a point.
Hundreds of furious Brentford fans were streaming up the stairs and out into the night when Ivan Toney wriggled away from the sluggish substitutes Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro before jabbing the ball across the six-yard box for Ajer to fire home. It was their 31st shot, and finally Andre Onana was beaten. A 1-1 draw was the least they deserved.
That warm fuzzy feeling that United felt at the end of their incredible FA Cup win over Liverpool two weeks ago dissipated in half an hour of domination. By half-time Brentford had taken 15 shots, hit the post and the crossbar and United’s positivity was forgotten. By the end of 90 minutes, Brentford had taken 30 shots and it was astonishing that they hadn’t scored. They almost lost one of the most one-sided games you might ever see.
Brentford strike late to deny Manchester United a win they never deserved
Brentford 1-1 Manchester United: Kristoffer Ajer’s equaliser gave the Bees some reward for a performance of utter dominance over Erik ten Hag’s side
FULL-TIME: Brentford 1-1 Man United
The home side will play Brighton and Aston Villa in the next week before facing relegation rivals Sheffield United, Luton and Everton. They currently sit in 15th on 27 points, five ahead of the relegation zone.
United play Chelsea in midweek before welcoming Liverpool to Old Trafford on Sunday. They then travel to Bournemouth before their FA Cup semi-final against Coventry on 21 April. They sit in sixth, eight points behind Spurs and 11 behind Villa.
Premier League action continues tomorrow, and attention turns to the title race.
Liverpool host Brighton in the 2pm kick-off, while Arsenal travel to Manchester City for the second game of Super Sunday.
Erik ten Hags speaks to Sky
The United manager laments “giving it away” as he speaks to Sky.
“We have to get it over the line.
“We made certain mistakes. We should act differently in a different occasion. The equaliser was absolutely unnecessary.
“In the final third, we were not secure. We were slow. Second balls, defending, we were not good. They were more aggressive. They had more energy and it should be the other way around.
“We have many senior players, we should all stand up and take responsibility for this.
“From January on, we are very consistent with our performances.
“We will keep fighting, it could be a good point in the end.”
Frank speaks to Sky
Thomas Frank is the first of the managers to go in front of the cameras.
“There should have been only one winner in the game,” he says.
“You go 1-0 down in the 96th minute and you think football is brutal. I almost lost faith in the football god but he gave a bit back.
“What a performance. We had our entire back four out.
“We had the most shots ever in the Premier League. How we didn’t win is incredible.
“I am very, very happy with the performance. It was more or less the perfect performance.”
Mount speaks to Sky
United’s goalscorer is now speaking to the Sky, and he says that “if you look at the game overall it wasn’t to our standard”.
“When you score at the death you think you can maybe hang on. But maybe we didn’t deserve it.
“We know we can improve and we need to because we need to win games. We will improve, we will work hard.”
On Champions League qualification, he says that it’s a “tough one” after the result, “but all we can do is focus on ourselves. We know what we need to do.”
Toney speaks to Sky
Brentford striker Ivan Toney, who scored his first England goal in midweek, is the first to speak to Sky.
He says that the team “feel like it’s points dropped”.
“When you see the stats, we don’t know how we’ve not scored more than one goal.
“The chance I’ve missed, we’ve hit the woodwork four times, all the opportunities but it means nothing when you draw the game.”
FULL-TIME: Brentford 1-1 Man United
Brentford had 31 shots in that game, and 14 corners, which tells you all you need to know really. That was deeply embarassing for United, in a different way to some of their other draws and losses this season.
Take nothing away from Brentford though. They played very well in stages, thought the fact they only had five shots on target perhaps suggest that the final bit of quality is lacking.
The home side must feel both relieved at getting the draw and perplexed that they didn’t get the three points.
FULL-TIME: Brentford 1-1 Man United
An entertaining game for the neutral, a worrying one for United fans and a hopeful one for Brentford fans.
The home side played excellently in parts, with Toney, Wassa and Mbeumo all very impressive. Play like that in their next few games and they’ll be safe from relegation sooner rather than later.
For United, it’s a story similar to that of much of the rest of the reason. A disappointing performance – disjointed, insipid and wasteful. Ratcliffe and Brailsford will be looking at games like this knowing that a lot needs to change.
FULL-TIME: Brentford 1-1 Man United
FULL-TIME: Brentford 1-1 Man United
And the referee blows the final whistle! A whirlwind ending to a game that Brentford completely dominated.
Thomas Frank will be rueing missed opportunities and wondering how they haven’t won that. Erik ten Hag will be wondering how it’s possible to be so easily dominated by a team that is near the relegation places and has lost six in a row.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments