Substitute Scott McTominay scored twice in second-half stoppage time as Manchester United came from 1-0 down to beat Brentford 2-1 at Old Trafford and
eased the pressure on Erik ten Hag
Still trailing to Mathias Jensen’s first-half goal in the 93rd minute, Erik ten Hag’s side were staring down the barrel of a third straight defeat in all competitions – and a third home loss in a row, something which hadn’t happened since the late 1980s.
But a quickfire brace from McTominay spared the home side’s blushes as they recorded just their fourth Premier League win of the season.
McTominay was only introduced after 87 minutes, but he could hardly have made a more significant impact.
The Scotland midfielder equalised from close range, pouncing after Brentford goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha could only parry Diogo Dalot’s initial effort.
And four minutes later, he sent a previously irate Old Trafford crowd – who had directed plenty of boos at their team earlier in the match – into raptures by heading home a ball from Harry Maguire – making his first league start of the campaign.
Both McTominay and Maguire looked to be on their way out of Man United this summer, but they have just combined for what could prove to be a huge turning point for the Red Devils.
There’s still plenty of work to do with United sit ninth in the Premier League table heading into the international break on a considerably higher note than it appeared they would.
They return to action with a trip to bottom-of-the-pile Sheffield United in two weeks’ time.
