Manchester United slipped to a slender 4-3 defeat on Sunday afternoon at Brentford, where Ruben Amorim fielded the youngest Premier League XI in the club's history.
With next Thursday's UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Club taking priority, Amorim made eight changes to the line-up from the first leg and the hosts eventually took advantage.
Mason Mount's 14th-minute opener - at the same ground where he scored in last season's 1-1 draw between the clubs - gave the travelling fans hope of an away win for the youthful team.
But an unfortunate own goal by Luke Shaw and a far-post header by Kevin Schade, with United defender Matthijs de Ligt injured in the build-up, put Brentford 2-1 up at the break.
In the second half, the Bees moved further ahead with Schade's second goal and a close-range finish from Yoane Wissa. And although Alejandro Garnacho scored with a sublime strike to make it 4-2 and Amad marked his first Premier League outing since February by reducing the arrears to 4-3, it was still another bad day at the office for United who have now suffered 16 defeats in the division.
With a lot of focus on our upcoming UEFA Europa League second-leg meeting with Athletic Club on Thursday, Ruben Amorim fielded a heavily rotated side; the club's youngest Premier League starting XI to date, with the average age of the players being just 22 years and 270 days, according to Opta.
The selection included a first senior start for striker Chido Obi, who at 17 years and 156 days old, became the youngest player to start a league game for the Reds, breaking the record previously set by Mason Greenwood in May 2019.
Given the mass changes, it was understandable that it took United a few minutes to acclimatise to the game. It almost began in the worst possible fashion when Shaw appeared to head the ball towards his own net in the opening few minutes, to a chorus of shrieks around the Gtech Community Stadium.
Shaw, our captain for the game with Bruno Fernandes rested, did not seem to share that fear, and that calmness soon rubbed off onto the youthful squad he was leading.
It was now the Reds’ turn to apply some pressure, with Garnacho breaking down the left side as he so often does and finding Mount, who tucked the ball home. The travelling United faithful, tucked into one corner of Brentford’s compact ground, made themselves heard following the opener, supporting the young side through every tackle, duel and pass.
Mount also scored at this ground in our visit last season, with a stoppage-time strike that was cancelled out three minutes later as the match ended 1-1. This time around, the hosts had to wait slightly longer - 13 minutes - to equalise, through an own goal by Luke Shaw.
From a long throw on the right, the ball dropped to Mikkel Damsgaard, whose shot from a tight angle took a slight touch off Shaw to send it beyond Bayindir's outstretched arm.
With their senior experience perhaps prevailing, the hosts then took the lead for the first time in the match just past the half-hour mark, with Norgaard this time seeking out Schade with a cross from the right, and the latter rising above a packed United box to head back into the far corner. Matthijs De Ligt was unable to take his usual position there, having been injured in the build-up.
Amorim’s young side had shown their brilliance in flashes, but needed to stamp more authority on the game on the other side of the break to take something from this game.
SECOND HALF – HOSTS KICK ON BEFORE REDS' LATE REPLIES
Amorim opted for some half-time changes to keep his squad fresh, introducing Leny Yoro, Amad and, around 10 minutes later, Christian Eriksen. The latter instantly gave the Reds a different edge, using his passing range to go direct and managing, on a couple of occasions, to seek out Garnacho, who looked the Reds’ most dangerous player in the early parts of the second 45 minutes.
The manager’s changes did, for a time, bring a spell of promising possession and attacking threat for United, but the Bees managed to adjust to the tactical tweaks. In an attack that was almost a replica of the hosts’ second goal, it was Bryan Mbeumo who this time floated a ball into the box for Schade to again rise and head home.
Despite the scoreline, United's supporters were by far the loudest fans in the ground, defiantly chanting about the road to Bilbao with more than a supportive nod of support for Amorim’s rotation ahead of Thursday night’s Europa clash at Old Trafford.
The travelling Reds may not have seen a win, but Garnacho and Amad ensured they went home with something to cheer about, the former expertly curling an effort into the top-right corner of Mark Flekken’s goal from outside the box and the Ivorian drawing proceedings to a close in stoppage time, cutting in from the right before drilling a shot through the goalkeeper’s legs.
In truth, the two goals came too late to salvage a point and the muted celebrations reflected this.
It was therefore a day to forget in west London, but the immense support from the United faithful throughout was, on its own, a spectacle to admire.
Brentford: Flekken; Kayode (Ajer 81), van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter (Nunes 81); Norgaard (c), Yarmolyuk (Jensen 68), Damsgaard (Thiago 81); Mbeumo, Wissa, Schade (Henry 72).
Substitutes not used: Valdimarsson, Pinnock, Mee, Konak, Nunes.
Goals: Shaw 27 (og), Schade 33, 71, Wissa 74.
United: Bayindir; Fredricson (Lindelof 76), De Ligt (Maguire 35), Shaw (c) (Yoro 46); Dorgu (Amad 46), Ugarte, Mainoo, Amass; Garnacho, Mount (Eriksen 57); Obi.
Substitutes not used: Heaton, Casemiro, Eriksen, Fernandes, Hojlund.
Goals: Mount 14, Garnacho 82, Amad 90+5.
Bookings: Ugarte, Garnacho.