Manchester United defender Harry Maguire faltered as his side fell to a 3-1 loss at the hands of Brentford.
United humiliated by Brentford United headed into the contest at the Gtech Community Stadium with confidence, having beaten Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea last weekend.
Ruben Amorim was looking for his first back-to-back wins as United but his efforts suffered a significant blow as the Red Devils found themselves 2-0 down inside 20 minutes.
For the opener, Maguires failed offside gamble left Igor Thiago through on goal, and the forward made no mistake in firing past Altay Bayindir.
Thiago added a second later on, capitalising on another moment of pitiful defending from the visitors. Benjamin Sesko pulled one back for United just before the half-hour mark, offering United some hope of mounting a comeback.
The 20-time English champions were handed a chance to draw level when Bryan Mbeumo won a penalty kick, but Bruno Fernandes’ spot-kick was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher. Mathias Jensen made it 3-1 for Brentford in added time to completely sink Amorim and his players.
A number of United players didn’t rise to the occasion, including Maguire, who was taken off after 66 minutes of action.
Maguire’s performance Beyond his roles in the first two goals, Maguire failed to make even one tackle or interception. However, he contributed five clearances.
The England international contested just one ground duel, which he failed to win. He vied for six challenges in the air and came out on top four times.
Maguire lost the ball seven times.
He registered 39 touches and managed to find his teammates with 25 of the 31 passes he attempted (81% individual pass accuracy).
Maguire connected with just one of the five long balls he pinged.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
United are back in action next Saturday when they host newly-promoted Sunderland at Old Trafford.
Featured image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
