Who was our Man of the Match against Brentford?

Wednesday 19 January 2022 23:27

David De Gea edged a tight Man of the Match vote after our impressive 3-1 win away at Brentford on Wednesday.

United sprang to life in the second half and seized the three points via a cluster of superb team goals from Anthony Elanga, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford.
 
But it was only thanks to De Gea's first-half heroics that the Reds managed to reach the interval on level terms.
 
Brentford started the game superbly, buoyed by a passionate home crowd, and the in-form Spaniard was called on several times to make key saves.
Who was our standout performer in the win at Brentford?poll

Who was our standout performer in the win at Brentford?

Our no.1 thwarted Brentford midfielder Mathias Jensen in particular, who was put through on goal twice in the opening 45, but several other Brentford players were foiled too.
 
De Gea was also dominant on crosses and from the Bees' long throws – at least until Ivan Toney grabbed a consolation in the last 10 minutes following a stramash inside the United penalty area.
 
But, prior to that, David's input was absolutely integral to keeping United in the contest, in the first league meeting between these two clubs since 1947.
The value of De Gea's contribution quickly became clear in the second half, when United emerged from the dressing room a reinvigorated outfit.
 
Midfield trio Bruno Fernandes, Fred and Scott McTominay led by example, crunching into tackles, making interceptions and regularly driving the team up the field into attacking positions.
 
The Brazilian crossed for Anthony Elanga to open the scoring, while McTominay started the moves that led to our second and third goals, scored by Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford goals, respectively.
 
It won't surprise you to learn that Fernandes played the penultimate touch for both of those moves, claiming a pair of precious assists.
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De Gea topped the poll with a solid 30 per cent of the fan votes, but Bruno (26 per cent) and McTominay (21 per cent) were not far behind.
 
Others that polled well included Anthony Elanga (nine per cent) and Diogo Dalot (seven per cent).
 
It was a vital result for the Reds, ahead of a tough next fixture against fellow top-four rivals West Ham on Saturday (15:00 GMT).
 
Congratulations to David on his award, and for all the lads on a fine second-half showing!

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