Having left St James’ Park feeling deflated and down in the dumps, Erik ten Hag got exactly the response he was after during the visit of Brentford, as Man United quickly consigned defeat to Newcastle United to history with a narrow triumph over the Bees.
Marcus Rashford‘s half-volley into the roof of the net was all that was needed to separate the two sides, although the Red Devils were once again indebted to David de Gea, who made a crucial stop one-on-one with Kevin Schade to deny the Bees a slice of the spoils.
By quickly returning to winning ways, Man United rose back above Tottenham into the Champions League places – currently sitting fourth and level on points with Newcastle, who possess a far superior goal difference – while Spurs are three points worse off having played a game more.
The Red Devils’ Champions League destiny therefore remains firmly in their own hands as they continue to fight for success on three fronts – next Thursday will see Sevilla visit Old Trafford for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final – and the Theatre of Dreams has served up plenty of stellar performances from Ten Hag’s men in recent memory.
Indeed, Man United have not lost in 23 successive matches on home soil since a 1-0 reverse to Real Sociedad back in September – a run which includes 13 Premier League games without defeat at Old Trafford – and Ten Hag’s side can proudly boast three clean sheets from their last three contests in front of the home faithful.
Man United’s midfield maestro Casemiro will serve the fourth and final game of his domestic suspension this weekend, but Ten Hag has been handed an untimely concern with Luke Shaw, who came off with an apparent hamstring problem in the first half against Brentford.
Ten Hag admitted in his press conference that Shaw would miss out, but Christian Eriksen will be in the squad for the first time since suffering a severe ankle injury in January. Alejandro Garnacho and Tom Heaton remain out with their own ankle issues, though, alongside former Toffees loanee Donny van de Beek (knee).
Tyrell Malacia can surely look forward to a start on the left-hand side of the backline in Shaw’s absence, and with fewer than 72 hours to recover, the likes of Fred, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and even Anthony Martial could come into Ten Hag’s thinking here.
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Man United are not the only ones working without a suspended tough-tackling midfielder, as Doucoure starts a three-game ban for his skirmish with Kane, whose reaction to the incident seemed to generate more furore than Doucoure’s actions did.
Andros Townsend, who scored in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford last season, is unlikely to be back for another few weeks due to a knee issue, while the luckless Dominic Calvert-Lewin continues to struggle with a thigh injury and remains unavailable too. On a brighter note, left-back Ruben Vinagre should be available after a tight Achilles kept him out of the Tottenham stalemate
