David de Gea epitomised the abysmal standards at Manchester United, who went down 4-0 to Brentford at the Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday.
The enormity of the task at hand for Erik ten Hag became even clearer than it was last weekend as Brentford handed Manchester United a 4-0 chastening at the Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday evening. The hosts looked in control from the word go, although they needed a slice of luck to go ahead when Joshua Dasilva’s long-range effort found the back of the net.
The effort did not have any legs on it, but David de Gea inexplicably made a meal of a simple save to gift Brentford the lead. The Spaniard then helped the Bees double their advantage when he took an eternity to pass the ball, only to put Christian Eriksen in a world of trouble. Mathias Jensen duly pounced before scoring his team’s second.
Manchester United embarked on one blistering counter-attacking move, but the lack of chemistry was appallingly clear. Things then went from bad to worse for the visitors, who went three down when Ben Mee scored a fortunate goal at the far post by overpowering Lisandro Martinez during a set-piece routine.
Brentford did not have to wait long for the fourth goal as they went from their box into the Manchester United area within a couple of seconds, with Bryan Mbuemo finishing off the counter. The hosts were then happy to sit back and absorb the pressure after the interval but remained comfortable throughout the second half. In the end, a toothless Manchester United side deservedly lost 4-0, and The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over Ten Hag’s men.
David de Gea: 1/10
David de Gea: “I cost three points to my team today and it was a poor performance from myself. It was a horrible day”, told @ShamoonHafez. ?? #MUFC
De Gea personally asked to do the post match interview. pic.twitter.com/lsqvCskX5P
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 13, 2022
David de Gea endured a game right out of his nightmares that started with the bizarre error that resulted in Brentford’s first goal. The Spaniard then put Christian Eriksen in trouble by taking ages to find the Danish international at the worst time. Then de Gea could have done better for the third goal, and the only reason he has a point is the two saves he somehow made.
Diogo Dalot: 3/10
Dalot was horrendous on the right flank as he struggled against the wandering Mathias Jensen while failing to produce anything of note in the final third. The Portuguese international lost the ball a staggering 26 times while never threatening to create a chance for Manchester United. The Red Devils need a right-back ASAP.
Harry Maguire: 4/10
Maguire was probably the best Manchester United player on Saturday. But the Englishman failed to keep the backline organised, with the defensive unit all over the place. On a personal level, the Manchester United captain was decent enough, retaining a 92 per cent passing rate while blocking three shots and winning four duels. But he needs to do more for his team.
Lisandro Martinez: 2/10
Martinez did not lose a ground duel and made a couple of interceptions. The Argentine defender did not misplace many passes, losing possession just thrice. But Martinez never looked convincing at the back and made a mockery of his abilities when Ben Mee beat him for Brentford’s third goal.
Luke Shaw: 2/10
Shaw’s form is barely showing signs of improvement, and the English international faltered again on Saturday. The full-back did not win a duel while losing possession 11 times in just 45 minutes of action. In addition, he was directly at fault for the fourth Brentford goal as he was responsible for marking Bryan Mbuemo, the scorer.
Bruno Fernandes: 3/10
David de Gea, Scott McTominay, Anthony Elanga, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Donny van de Beek and Diogo Dalot apologised to the #mufc fans at full-time #mulive [@SkyKaveh] pic.twitter.com/Htb0iGzwGd
— utdreport (@utdreport) August 13, 2022
Bruno Fernandes has lost his inspiring touch in the middle of the park, and the Portuguese creative midfielder failed to make his mark at the Brentford Community Stadium. But his teammates were all over the place, although his output also lacked ideas. He needs to push the reset button at Manchester United.
Fred: 2/10
Fred’s display again illustrated why Manchester United needed to recruit a recognised holding midfielder two months ago. The Red Devils are instead stuck with the Brazilian international, who excels more as a box-to-box midfielder. Nonetheless, Fred miserably failed to reprise the role Erik ten Hag assigned him, with Brentford troubling him constantly.
Christian Eriksen: 4/10
Eriksen technically committed an error that directly led to Brentford’s second goal, but David de Gea needs to own up to the mistake instead of the Danish international. Eriksen was as decent as decent can be in such a game, and he came the closest to scoring for Manchester United on Saturday.
Jadon Sancho: 2/10
Sancho has not started the season strongly, and he needs to show why Manchester United paid so much money to secure his services last summer. The English international showed little quality, but he still managed to notch up a couple of key passes. He has lost his fluidity at Manchester United.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 3/10
Ronaldo whined a little, looked lost at times, and seemed disinterested on the odd occasion. He also tried to egg his teammates to improve their performances, but his display was dreadful, for the most part. He did not misplace a pass but aimed needless shots that yielded nothing. His head might have turned by the speculation surrounding his future.
The heaviest league defeats of Cristiano Ronaldo's career:
◎ 2021: United 0-5 Liverpool
◎ 2010: Barça 5-0 Real
◉ 2022: Brentford 4-0 United
◉ 2022: Brighton 4-0 United
◎ 2015: Real 0-4 Barcelona
◎ 2015: Atlético Madrid 4-0 RealTwo have come in this calendar year. ? pic.twitter.com/CFAm9NGsyd
— Squawka (@Squawka) August 13, 2022
Marcus Rashford: 2/10
Rashford has no right to start for Manchester United right now, but Erik ten Hag has no choice but to start with the Englishman. With opportunities coming readily, Rashford needs to cement his spot instead of producing such hapless performances that do nothing for him or his team.
SUBSTITUTES
Tyrell Malacia: 4/10
Malacia was an upgrade on Shaw, but the Dutch defender failed to inspire Manchester United to pull a goal back, although the attackers looked lost in the final third anyway.
Raphael Varane: 4/10
Varane made a couple of clearances, but he was largely comfortable, with Brentford sitting back to see the game out in the second half.
Scott McTominay: 3/10
McTominay was not as bad as Fred, but Brentford did not put as much pressure on him as they heaped on the Brazilian international in the first half. A bizarre pass that went out of play summed up how bad he has been at the start of the season.
Anthony Elanga: 3/10
Elanga had half an hour on the pitch but never got into the game. You can forgive someone for reckoning that the Swede never even took to the pitch on Saturday.
Donny van de Beek: N/A
A late introduction, van de Beek barely got a touch on the ball in the game’s dying embers.
