Man Utd back to Top 4
Man Utd have not performed much better than in recent matches, but this time they took all three points thanks to the brilliance of Marcus Rashford. The English striker scored his 28th goal in 46 games this season, to bring Man Utd back to the top 4 after a round was pushed out by Tottenham.
Heavy rain from the first half affected the quality of the game, when Brentford mainly took advantage of fixed situations or high balls. Man Utd kept the ball up to 73% of the time and actively shot from long distance, with 13 shots. However, the goal came from a set piece.
27 minutes, from the home corner, the ball was broken out of the penalty area to Antony's position. The midfielder clicked the ball into the penalty area for Marcel Sabitzer to head to make a wall for Rashford to cushion a touch against the visitors' net. Rashford cut the short circuit of Man Utd, and Sabitzer contributed to the goal in the Premier League for the first time.
It only stopped raining after an hour of the ball rolling, which is also when the away team pushed up the tempo. In the 68th minute, from an aerial situation, striker Ivan Toney created an opportunity for 22-year-old Kevin Schade to face goalkeeper David de Gea. However, Schade hit the ball on De Gea and bounced back, allowing a good opportunity to pass. That is also the only remarkable situation of the away team in this match.
In the match at the same time, Newcastle defeated the host West Ham 5-1 to keep the third place, with the same 53 points as Man Utd but more than the goal difference. Strikers Callum Wilson and Joelinton scored twice, while Alexander Isak scored the other for "Picture". Man Utd and Newcastle are both three points ahead of Tottenham, despite playing one game less.
In the 30th round of this weekend, Man Utd will host Everton at Old Trafford, while Newcastle will be a guest in Brentford.
Man Utd: De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw (Malacia 37), McTominay, Sabitzer (Fred 71), Antony (Lindelof 86), Bruno Fernandes, Sancho (Martial 71), Rashford.
Brentford: Raya, Roerslev (Hickey 75), Jansson, Pinnock, Mee, Henry, Damsgaard (Dasilva 62), Norgaard (Wissa 75), Jensen (Baptiste 62), Mbeumo (Schade 62), Toney.
