Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire: two unlikely heroes to rescue Manchester United from the nadir of bridging a 44-year gap to the last time England’s record 20-times champions suffered three successive league defeats at Old Trafford.
That was where Erik ten Hag’s desperate side were heading deep in added time, as Brentford led 1-0. Then Alejandro Garnacho twisted and turned along the left and fired the ball in, it ricocheted about and came to McTominay, who lashed home to the relief of all of a United persuasion.
This was part one of the great comeback. For part two, enter Maguire. Like McTominay, he was for sale in the summer window, before each remained due to no one making a move for the former captain or for the academy-reared midfielder.
A right-to-left diagonal free-kick was punted into the area by Bruno Fernandes and up rose Maguire with a sweetly executed header to McTominay, who nodded in for a winner that sent him, his teammates, Ten Hag, and the place ballistic. The Scot had only come on in the 87th minute.
Until the equaliser Brentford had led through Mathias Jensen’s 26th-minute opener, which was the result of calamitous United play. Near the centre circle, the sloppy Casemiro gave the ball away to Bryan Mbuemo, Thomas Frank’s men skipped downfield, Victor Lindelöf failed to clear, Casemiro still slumbered, and when Yoane Wissa found Jensen his shot went under the hapless André Onana’s right hand.
More to follow
