After a 1-1 draw against Brentford that was ultimately dramatic but mainly uninspired, Manchester United did little to quell the rumours regarding manager Erik Ten Hag’s future.
Mason Mount came off the bench to give United a three-point lead six minutes into stoppage time, seemingly salvaging a lacklustre performance for the team.
However, Brentford grabbed a point—the very least they deserved—less than three minutes later when Kristoffer Ajer levelled.
Brentford had plenty of opportunities to reproduce their 4-0 rout, but their careless finishing has made this season far more difficult than the previous.
What happened?
Before they finally found the net, they had 31 tries at goal and had struck the woodwork four times.
Ivan Toney raced through early on, but his effort came back against the foot of the post. Toney had only opened his England account against Belgium in midweek.
When Mathias Jorgensen met Mathias Jensen’s cross with a strong header that went over the crossbar, the Bees struck the goal frame once more.
When Toney followed a lengthy clearance and cut inside Victor Lindelof on the edge of the box, he created another threat, but his shot went over the top.
Yoane Wissa’s spectacular attempt missed the mark, Vitaly Janelt drove across goal and wide, and Keane Lewis-Potter headed straight at Andre Onana as more opportunities came and went.
For all United’s meagre efforts in the first half, Mark Flekken saved a deflected Marcus Rashford shot and a Bruno Fernandes shot that fizzed wide.
At least United showed some energy in the second half as Fernandes broke the offside trap and squared for Rasmus Hojlund, whose initial shot was expertly parried by Flekken.
Then, Onana outdid his counterpart with a breathtaking double save to block Lewis-Potter’s rebound and Yehor Yarmoliuk’s attempt.
Wissa’s shot nearly put the hosts in trouble when it shaved off a post, while Toney’s risky effort narrowly missed.
After guiding in a cross from substitute Bryan Mbeumo, Toney had the ball in the net, but a close call for offside kept him out.
Shortly after, Mbeumo struck the crossbar with a volley, and it didn’t seem like Brentford’s day when, nine minutes into stoppage time, Casemiro found Mount for the far post conversion.
However, Brentford would not be defeated, and in the 99th minute, Toney put the ball across goal. Ajer was there to ensure that United only finished with a point, which will not do much for their chances of qualifying for the Champions League or Ten Hag’s chances of getting a job this summer.
