United View: Young Reds fall short at Brentford

Sunday’s defeat to Brentford highlighted that Manchester United lack the squad depth to compete on two fronts right now. 

Their youthful and heavily rotated side was physically outmatched. 

Only time will tell if Ruben Amorim’s prioritisation of the Europa League will be worthwhile.

United made eight changes from their unexpected but welcome 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. 

Harry Amass, Tyler Fredricson, and Chido Obi started, along with Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo, and Patrick Dorgu, all 20 years old, respectively.

Mason Mount’s second goal for the club after 14 minutes gave United the lead, but with 15 minutes to go, the Reds found themselves 4-1 down, outmatched by a Brentford side that has been known for their physical strengths under Thomas Frank.

A late comeback inspired by Garnacho and Amad reduced the deficit, but there was to be no Lyon-esque escape at the Gtech Community Stadium, as United suffered their 16th league defeat of the season.

After the game, Amorim spoke about his young side: “They need to understand what it is to play for Manchester United. I think they did really well. They are not playing so much, but then they have to play for 90 minutes because we have to change some other players to save them for Thursday.”

Perhaps the biggest concern was the injury to Matthijs de Ligt, who went off after making his first start in over a month after only just returning from another injury. 

At this moment in time, it’s unclear the extent of the damage, but Amorim will be hoping to have him back before the end of the season.

It’s obvious United are prioritising the Europa League, hence why Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro remained on the bench for the trip to Brentford. 

And with United having a three-goal advantage ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford, they have firm control of the tie.

That being said, United have shown they are susceptible to letting leads slip. 

An early goal for the Reds would calm any doubts, likewise, an Athletic goal would test United’s resilience at this critical part of the campaign.

Should they reach the final, it would give them the chance to salvage what’s been a miserable season. 

United have played terribly in the league, but in Europe it’s been a different story, with the Reds still unbeaten in the competition.

This juxtaposition is likely due to the difference in physicality between the European sides and Premier League opposition. 

This season has seen a significant improvement in the quality of sides in mid-table, with Brentford being a perfect example of this.

Amorim has talked before about United’s need to improve in this aspect, and as much as the youth have performed well when presented with the opportunity, it’s unrealistic to expect them to pull United out of trouble. 

They will need more experienced players to guide them back to success.

Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro are the two who have been the standouts in recent weeks, using their years of know-how to get United across the line, especially in Europe. 

The Brazilian, in particular, is becoming a key figure after looking like he was being phased out at the start of Amorim’s tenure.

With both fully rested ahead of United’s biggest game of the season, hopefully, they will be able to lead the Reds into another European final. 

They would face either Spurs or Bodo Glimt.

At the moment, it looks as though it could be an all-English final, but we’ll have to wait until Thursday evening to see if that will be the case.