In the final game of the 35th round of the Premier League, Manchester United played Brentford at Home at Old Trafford, Bruno scored the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty in the second half, Varane scored his debut goal, and the Red Devils won 3-0 to secure the sixth place in the league.
Lonnick made just one adjustment to United's start, with veteran Juan Mata starting for the first time in the Premier League this season. De Gea defended the goal, with Diogu Dalo, Lindlev, Varane and Tres forming a defensive line, with McTomine and Nemani Matic still at the back, and Antonio Erlanga, Mata and Fernandez attacking behind centre-forward C Ronaldo. Cavani, Fred and Jesse Lingard returned to the bench.
Lonnick explains: "Juan (Mata) has been very good in training and has played well on the bench against Chelsea, so he should start, I decided to let him play in the front and Bruno (Fernandez) on the left. Both Edani and Fred have only been in training twice with the team, especially Fred, so the starting risk is too great, and he can only play 45 to 60 minutes. Nemania (Nemanja Matic) did well against Chelsea, so I decided to let Fred come on as a substitute first. This game is important for the fans and for ourselves, hoping to win as many points as possible, which is important for confidence and atmosphere in the new season,"
Stam, who is rumored to be a possible assistant coach at Manchester United, appears at Old Trafford. Visiting Brentford was the main guest, and the long pass on the kick-off successfully entered the box, and Manchester United had C Ronaldo with color, also creating chaos in front of the goal, but failed to form a shot. In the 9th minute, Darrow sent a long pass over the top, Erlanga crossed from the right side of the anti-offside, B Fei grabbed the middle of the volley to score, Manchester United led Brentford 1-0.
It was Fernandez's 50th goal for Manchester United and his first since Leeds United, with the Portuguese midfielder breaking a two-and-a-half-month goal drought and ending United's embarrassment of having only C Ronaldo score in five consecutive games.
Both teams have basically no desire, so there is no pressure, the play is very relaxed, and there are attacks and defenses against each other. Cristiano Ronaldo took a free-kick that hit the goal but was saved by goalkeeper Raya; then he cut into the penalty area and was knocked down by the other side, and the referee decided that it was not enough to award a penalty. Mata and Cristiano Ronaldo completed a delicate combination, received a wonderful pass from the Portuguese superstar's heel, and shot into the near corner from the right rib of the penalty area, but unfortunately it was slightly offside.
In the 44th minute of the game, Manchester United almost extended the lead, Mata and B Fei played a two-on-one match, the Spanish midfielder successfully crossed against the offside, and Ronaldo pushed into the net inside the penalty area. Unfortunately, the VAR video replay showed that Ronaldo was offside by a foot, the goal was unfortunately cancelled, and Manchester United could only take a 1-0 lead to end the half.
Easy to fight again, Dalo assisted on the right side of the small angle of the strong shot, but unfortunately hit the crossbar, and the pass C Ronaldo offside was first. B Fei pushed the far corner in a similar position, unfortunately skimming the door. Brentford was not without a fight, and Tony's close-range shot was successfully saved by De Gea.
In the 60th minute, Dalo's direct pass from the right was met by Ronaldo and he drove into the box after carrying defender Rico Henry, who chased down the Portuguese winger and pointed straight at the 12 yards. Cristiano Ronaldo personally took the penalty, hitting the ball into the bottom left corner to rewrite the score to 2-0.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo's 18th Premier League goal this season, surpassing Ibrahimovic, Martial and Marcus Rashford's highest number of goals in a single season in recent years, and is expected to become United's first player to break 20 goals in a single season after Van Persie. Cristiano Ronaldo is a promotion star, with 19 goals and 6 assists in the last 19 Premier League games against the promoted team, and has participated in 25 goals. Previously, Ronaldo had only two clean sheets for promotion, that is, he visited Brentford, and he successfully scored when he returned home.
In the 70th minute, Fred replaced Nemanja Matic, the 250th time serbian iron-backed to represent Manchester United, and the final match of the Theatre of Dreams, and the audience stood up to pay tribute to him. A minute later, Tres drove a corner kick from the right and Varane volleyed wide of the goal to make It 3-0 Brentford, the first goal ever scored by a French centre-back.
Lonnick replaced Mata and Erlanga with Jones and Cavani, and the game was also the last time 34-year-old Mata and 35-year-old Cavani played at Old Trafford, and they were also applauded by the audience. In the 73rd minute, Manchester United fans unfurled banners and continued to angrily rebuke the owner's Glazer family, and many fans left the field 17 minutes early to express their dissatisfaction with Glazer's 17 years in charge. In the end, United beat Brentford 3-0 to bid farewell to Old Trafford with a big win and a clean sheet.
It was the first time united had met at the Theatre of Dreams since United beat Brentford 2-1 in the League Cup in September 1975, and if you count the league, it was the first time since December 1946, when United won 4-1 at home. Brentford, on the other hand, has been restrained by Manchester United, with one draw and five defeats in their last six games against the Red Devils, the last time winning was a 2-0 FA Cup win in February 1938.
Since the opponent has long been relegated, he did not fight for his life, but played very openly with Manchester United, which is the most suitable scene for the Red Devils to play their own ability. But United are all dedicated players on the pitch, which also makes the team run more normally, especially the "elderly" frontcourt partners who have reached 71 years old, C Ronaldo and Mata, which have brought a huge boost to the attack. The Spanish warm man who replaced B Feisch's No. 10 position showed better organizational skills. It is not simply a coincidence that Mata broke the ground after he came on, he made the team's attack more organized.
Portugal's new core prefers a risky style of play, which determines that he is not suitable to be the core of the team organization, and Mata's playing with him liberates Fernandez, allowing him to run more and play his ability to shoot and score. This game may let Manchester United boss Tenhag see the "instruction manual" of B fee next season, and Manchester United will need to bring in an organisational midfielder to make the most of it.
Although Manchester United's big win ended the home journey of the season, it has not helped much to compete for the top four, and the fight for the fourth is only theoretically possible, and Arsenal only need to score two more points in the last four rounds to ensure that the Red Devils cannot catch up. However, if they can find inspiration for next season's development from the remaining games, or find a rookie or two, United can not only fight for dignity, but also have some substantial gains.