Brentford 1 – 1 Man Utd

Manchester United were denied an undeserved victory at Brentford as Kristoffer Ajer’s 99th-minute equaliser salvaged a 1-1 draw in a thrilling finale.

Mason Mount thought he had won it for United in the 96th minute with his first goal for the club against the run of play but Brentford finally scored three minutes later with their 31st shot of the game through Ajer. United were woeful until that late stage.

Brentford will wonder how they did not take any of their myriad of chances before United scored. They struck the frame of the goal four times and were denied by a fine Andre Onana double save. That was just the tip of the iceberg.

Wins for Aston Villa and Tottenham mean United are eight points adrift of fifth after being played off the park by a side just five points above the relegation zone and without a win in their last seven. Brentford somehow, after 31 shots, did not win.

Watch Brentford’s best chances

How Man Utd nicked a point at Brentford

On United’s last visit to Brentford they were 4-0 down at half-time and could have easily found themselves in a similar scenario this time around. The fight that earned them a seismic win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals was nowhere to be seen.

Kobbie Mainoo produced two sublime moments early on but even he was chasing Brentford as they dominated the opening period. Ivan Toney saw an effort rebound off the inside of a post after Yoane Wissa nutmegged Raphael Varane with his through ball.

The whole stadium thought he had scored but were left frustrated – an emotion that would sum up the half for Brentford. Mathias Jorgensen headed onto the bar from a corner with Man Utd suspect at set pieces. Toney and Wissa also missed chances with their heads.

Man Utd had to cling on for most of the second part of the half and were indebted to the last-ditch defending of Victor Lindelof, with Onana also saving a header from Keane-Lewis Potter. Sloppy passing in the final third left United looking blunt.

“They have been so bad [in the first half],” said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp. “I cannot believe the lack of effort, spark, desire to win individual battles, to make things happen in that team. I’m watching Marcus Rashford walking around like it’s a bit of fun out there.”

For all of Brentford’s pressure, they only had one shot on target at the break. Ten Hag turned to Harry Maguire at half-time, bringing him on for Varane. The change did little to stem the tide of Brentford attacks.

A rare moment of magic from Bruno Fernandes unlocked Brentford against the run of play as he slipped Rasmus Hojlund through on goal. The striker looked certain to score but was kept out by Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken at full stretch.

The longer the game went on it felt inevitable that United would have a moment, but it was not forthcoming. Onana produced two stops in quick succession to keep out Yehor Yarmoliuk and Lewis-Potter with Brentford banging on the door.

Wissa grazed the post with a powerful volley after Victor Lindelof’s poor clearance before Toney fired over after a moment of brilliance. It was his shot that ensured United have faced 20 shots in a league game for the 11th time this season.

Substitute Antony saw a curling effort fly a whisker wide of the post to create a bit of anxiety for the home crowd. That was quickly dispelled when Toney put the ball in the back of the net a minute later. VAR came to United’s rescue, though, with the striker marginally offside.

Brentford’s luck seemed to be out when they hit the frame of the goal for a fourth time through Bryan Mbuemo off the bench. Errors from Onana and the returning Lisandro Martinez went unpunished and the game seemed destined to end goalless.

Nine minutes were added on although that was extended due to a bang of heads between Diogo Dalot and Neal Muapay which set up this frantic finale.

United, finally, deep in stoppage-time found some form and scored what everyone thought was the winner with Mount picking up a loose ball before burying it past Flekken.

But Brentford, having failed to score with their previous 30 shots, finally found the back of the net through Ajer three minutes later to ensure justice was served.

What’s next?

Brentford host Brighton on Wednesday night, with kick-off at 7.30pm, before travelling to Aston Villa next Saturday for a 3pm start.

Manchester United have another date in west London as they go to Chelsea on Thursday evening, kick-off at 8.15pm. Attention then turns to a heavyweight clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford nex Sunday, with kick-off at 3.30pm.