Man Utd lost 3-1 to Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday and here are the talking points and moments you might have missed.
Steven is a senior writer and covers Manchester United for the Manchester Evening News. You can follow Steven on Twitter at @StevenRailston.
Ruben Amorim reacts against Brentford.(Image: 2025 Catherine Ivill – AMA)
Manchester United lost 3-1 against Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Brentford made an excellent start to the game, taking a two-goal lead within 20 minutes after a brace from Igor Thiago, giving United a mountain to climb at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Benjamin Sesko scored his first goal for the club to halve the deficit before the interval. United had a golden chance to draw level when Bryan Mbeumo won a penalty with 15 minutes remaining, but Bruno Fernandes’ low effort was saved by Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Brentford wrapped up the victory with an injury-time goal from Mathias Jensen.
Here are the talking points and moments you might have missed:
The system is a problem
Brentford opened the scoring far too easily, launching a long ball forward after stifling an attack from United. Harry Maguire was isolated and Thiago lashed the ball beyond Altay Bayindir.
It was concerning that Brentford were able to bypass United’s entire team with a simple long ball. There had been instances of the team looking disjointed before that breakthrough, with a large gap between the backline and attack, so the manner of Brentford’s goal wasn’t surprising.
Ruben Amorim finally had a chance to address the problem when Sesko halved the deficit, which allowed him to usher Maguire and Luke Shaw to the touchline to receive tactical instructions.
United’s head coach should not need to address the space between the backline, midfield and attack at this stage of his tenure. That should be second nature to his players.
The problem is part of the ongoing conversation around Amorim’s system and the debate about whether he will succeed at Old Trafford with his approach. He is still yet to win back-to-back league games.
The chant from United’s fans
The tempo dropped after play resumed for the second half and there was a worrying lack of urgency from United, who were trailing by a goal and supposed to be trying to find a way back into the game.
“Attack, attack, attack,” pleaded the travelling away support. It all looked far too pedestrian, despite Amorim trying to gee up his players from the sidelines.
There was hope United would build on their Chelsea victory but it’s another false dawn.
The reception for Mainoo
There was a loud cheer when Kobbie Mainoo was introduced to the game in the 66th minute. Many wondered whether Mainoo would be given his first start of the Premier League season against Brentford, but Manuel Ugarte was selected to start alongside Fernandes instead.
Ugarte was wasteful, losing possession far too often. The 24-year-old is not having a good season and the reaction to Mainoo’s introduction hinted United fans think he should be involved more often.
It didn’t take long for Mainoo to offer what Ugarte did not. The youngster escaped a tight space with the ball at his feet, and impressively broke up a Brentford attack moments later.
Amorim’s handling of Mainoo has been questionable this season.
Cunha showed his frustration
It didn’t take long for Cunha to become frustrated with how the game was unfolding. He tried to encourage his teammates as they prepared for the restart following Thiago’s opener and became animated with Sesko when he picked the wrong pass, which botched a sweeping move forward.
Cunha had further words with Sesko when the ball went out of play for a throw-in. The Brazilian isn’t afraid to dish out orders to his teammates and Amorim has praised that part of his character.
However, it works both ways, and Cunha can make wrong decisions on the ball himself, just like when he chose to shoot from the edge of the box instead of sliding Fernandes through.
Cunha, Sesko and Mbeumo started together for the first time against Brentford and there were teething problems.
Mbeumo reunion
Mbeumo returned to the Gtech Community Stadium for the first time since signing for United for £65m in the summer. The forward spent six successful years with Brentford and left on good terms.
Before the warm-ups began, Mbeumo chatted with his former teammates on the pitch and seemed in good spirits. He shared an embrace with a handful of his former colleagues, and Brentford’s supporters gave Mbeumo a loud cheer when the stadium announcer read out his name.
Mbeumo scored in Brentford’s 4-0 hammering of United in August 2022 when Erik ten Hag was in charge, and memories of that game came flooding back as the Bees took a 2-0 lead within 20 minutes.
The Cameroon international played a brilliant cross into the box in the second half, but nobody was there to connect with it. Mbeumo didn’t have that problem during his stint with Brentford.
“Bryan, what’s the score?” sang Brentford’s fans at the end of the game.