A couple of hours after Scott McTominay had almost taken the leaky roof off Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag stood outside the exit chatting to fans and signing autographs on an unseasonably warm autumn evening.
There was still a buzz about the place and Ten Hag wore the easy smile of a manager who had just caught a big break. Gone was the fixed frown of recent weeks. He was heading off into the international fortnight on a huge and much-needed high.
This felt like a monumental win for Manchester United: up there with some of their greatest escapes in Fergie Time after McTominay struck in the 93rd and 97th minutes to snatch victory from Brentford. It was officially United’s latest ever Premier League comeback.
The booing brought on by back-to-back home defeats by Crystal Palace and Galatasaray last week was replaced by a wave of euphoria and relief that swept around the stands at Old Trafford. Even the usually reserved Ten Hag danced on the touchline and punched the air when McTominay’s winning header crept in off the post. Afterwards the talk was of turning points and resets after a dismal start to the season.
It begged the question of Ten Hag: just how does he make this a turning point? How do his players bottle this up and uncork it at bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United in two weeks’ time? Because this season of one step forward and one step back cannot continue. Ten Hag’s answer told us all we need to know about where he thinks the problem lies — not so much in United’s heads as in their hearts.
Erik ten Hag has to turn Manchester United’s late victory over Brentford into a turning point
Ten Hag hailed two-goal Scott McTominay for ‘fighting for this badge’ as a late substitute
‘In football it is eat or get eaten,’ he said. ‘Too many times in the first half of this season we got eaten by opponents who are more hungry. This can’t be.
‘Scott is fighting for this badge. He will give his life and that has to be for everyone. That is what we didn’t always do in the last couple of weeks. It’s the demand when you are here.’
In McTominay, Ten Hag had a willing and able super sub steeped in the traditions of United. He had spent Friday night watching the new David Beckham documentary and drawing inspiration from Ferguson’s teams of old. He could easily have left his boyhood club in the summer but stuck around, and United are grateful he did after this.
‘Things like that can change the dynamic of what’s happening,’ said McTominay, whose last 13 goals for United have all come at Old Trafford. ‘We have to come back from the international break and really kick on.’
McTominay’s goals averted another United defeat but it couldn’t paper over the cracks of another below-par display. For more than 90 minutes, this was a re-run of Palace seven days earlier. United fell behind to a goal midway through the first half — errors from Casemiro, Victor Lindelof and Andre Onana contributing to Mathias Jensen’s opener — and then struggled to lay a glove on their opponents.
Ten Hag’s side were ponderous and predictable. He threw on Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony Martial to little effect before taking a more direct route with McTominay. Credit to Garnacho for his industry in the build-up to McTominay drilling home the equaliser.
Harry Maguire hardly put a foot wrong at the back, and his header set up McTominay’s winner
Andre Onana was one of several players who made mistakes which led to Brentford’s opener
And let’s not forget Harry Maguire, another player who could have left in the summer. He hardly put a foot wrong at the back and then ventured upfield to nod Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick into McTominay’s path for the winner. It was enough to ruin Thomas Frank’s weekend and quite possibly his 50th birthday today as well.
This would have been Brentford’s first win at Old Trafford since 1937. Instead, they have given away 11 points from winning positions this season, more than any other Premier League team.
‘I’m irritated with the last four or five games where we were leading and would normally get three points,’ said the Brentford boss. ‘We need to regroup and go again.’
