Not for the first time and almost certainly not for the last, this mercurial bunch of Manchester United players served up a night’s work that defied cogent analysis. They should have been buried by Brentford in the first half but turned up after the interval and found the kind of clinical edge that ought to have been deployed against them earlier on. More than that, they showed flickers of the football Ralf Rangnick has made his hallmark: their second and third goals came from fast, intelligent transitions that swamped the home side’s defence, suggesting they at least have the capacity to implement their interim manager’s vision in thrilling bursts.
Brentford were left to curse the fact that, just as they were exposed repeatedly during the second period, they had torn United apart on the break before half-time. Mathias Jensen missed two gilt-edged chances and was not alone in being wayward: Thomas Frank’s players gave their visitors a lesson in wild-eyed intensity during that spell but were ultimately schooled in how to seize chances with aplomb.
