Brentford 1-3 Manchester United: Four Things We Learned

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Manchester United are back to their winning ways! After a couple of shaky performances and especially the draw against Aston Villa, the Red Devils have managed to get the three points on their trip to Brentford. Man United won comfortably 3-1, thanks to their strong second half performance.

Ralf Rangnick’s side had to be patient and wait until the 55th minute for Anthony Elanga to score the opener, but once that happened, things became much easier for the visitors. Mason Greenwood doubled the lead just seven minutes later, before Marcus Rashford made it 3-0 with 15 minutes to go. Ultimately, Ivan Toney scored for Brentford later on, but United’s win was never in doubt. Here is what we learned from this important victory.

Ronaldo Returns

Two games against Aston Villa brought mixed results, but both matches were notable for Cristiano Ronaldo missing them. Now it was finally time to see the Portuguese star back in the starting XI after recovering from his hop problems. He started up front as the lone striker, a role that is more and more looking as not really great for him. Ronaldo’s best performances this season have been when he had a partner in the striking position and Ronaldo was frustrated for the most part of the night. That was especially the case when he showed he was unhappy to be substituted, although Rangnick probably did not want to push him to hard when the team already had a comfortable 2-0 lead.

Encouraging Elanga Performance

Man United fans are getting accustomed to seeing Anthony Elanga start and that was the case on Wednesday night as well. The 19-year-old Swede was very good against Aston Villa recently and Rangnick obviously wanted to show him he really has faith in him. Elanga made another great performance on the left wing, managing to even score the goal, following Fred’s assist. He was composed throughout and especially when he nodded the ball in, so we might see more of him on the pitch in the matches to come.

Rashford Scores Important Goal

Marcus Rashford has been out of form for quite some time now and it was not a surprise to see him start the match on the bench. But it was very refreshing to see Rashford need just six minutes on the pitch to score the goal. He came on for the last 20 minutes and immediately managed to find the net, following Bruno Fernandes’ second assist of the night. This goal might prove very important for the Englishman, as his confidence has been much lower than usual and United could really profit from a more in-form version of Rashford.

A Much Needed Victory

Prior to this match, United had won just one point from the last two games and the win at Brentford was always going to be hugely important. And now with the win sealed, United can continue to work towards reaching the top four in the Premier League standings. Arsenal, West Ham and Tottenham will be rivals throughout this latter part of the season and that is why it is of imperative importance for Rangnick’s side to keep winning the games in which they are favourites. And talk about the importance of the upcoming West Ham clash…

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