Sky pundit singles out unlikely hero for United vs Brentford whose absence would’ve made matters ‘a lot worse’

Manchester United were lucky to have left the Gtech Community Stadium with a point after their utterly dismal showing against Brentford last night.

The Red Devils were completely dominated by Thomas Frank’s side in terms of attacking threat and chances created, as both Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund oversaw invisible performances up front.

With Champions League football now slipping even further from United’s grasp, especially after both Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa won their respective matches, fingers will continue to be pointed at both the squad and Erik ten Hag for what’s been a dismal campaign up to this stage.

Brentford recorded a remarkable 31 shots against Andre Onana – four of which hit the woodwork – while registering 85 touches in United’s penalty box, the most of any team in a Premier League match in the past three seasons. 

Brentford had 85 touches in the Manchester United box tonight – the most by a team in any Premier League match across the last three seasons.

😲 #BREMUN #MUFC pic.twitter.com/AeUvKDW6HX

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) March 30, 2024

Maguire commended by pundit for his efforts

As expected, such a performance doesn’t leave much room for praise towards any player. Onana certainly did all he could to keep his side in the game, and Harry Maguire was singled out on Sky Sports’ commentary for his spirited shift when coming toe-to-toe with the Bees’ relentless attackers. 

“If it wasn’t for Maguire being there, you know it could have been a lot worse,” Alan Smith remarked. “He’s got some big headers in, made some big blocks. He really has helped keep things as they are.”