When the Brentford players returned to the home dressing room at the Gtech Community Stadium midway through Saturday's game with
Manchester United, they probably felt their best chance of winning the match had been and gone. The Bees had 14 shots in the first half but went in at the break goalless. They would have been cursing those missed chances and expecting United to be much better after the break. This is what the very best teams do, they correct what is going wrong and they find solutions during the 15-minute pause. Brentford had already been on the receiving end of such a situation this year. They caused
Manchester City problems in the first half of their home clash against the champions at the start of February, but City equalised just before half-time and improved after the break to win 3-1. ALSO READ: United's preparations for Brentford make you wonder what they talked about ALSO READ: Erik ten Hag's denial of United's biggest problem must set alarm bells ringing But little did Thomas Frank's players realise that rather than improving for 15 minutes to reset and come up with a new plan, United would get worse. Brentford had another 17 shots after the break and although they ended up needing a Kristoffer Ajer equaliser in the 99th minute to get a point, this was a game they dominated and one they would win eight or nine times out of 10. It is the hosts who will be cursing their failure to win a game in which they had 31 shots and ended with an xG tally of 3.2, their second-highest total of the season. For Erik ten Hag , it was another chastening night and another occasion in which the impact he is now having on this team has to be questioned. He had the full length of the half-time interval on Saturday to work out what was wrong with his team and fix any problems. Ten Hag and his coaching staff should have had a solution ready to go, whether that involved tactical tweaks or a substitution. Something had to be done to deny Brentford the space they were exploiting in midfield and the joy they were having against a deep defence. But the pattern of the game didn't change. If anything Brentford's domination became even more complete in the second half and it was a travesty they didn't win the match. That failure to solve a persistent problem against a team who had lost 13 of their previous 15
Premier League games is a major issue for Ten Hag and at a time when he is fighting for his future at Old Trafford, it will surely have been noted by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford. Not only could United not stem the tide coming towards them, but they were as blunt in attack in the second half as they had been in the first. For all that United have pulled a series of late winners out of the bag this season, including the reverse fixture against Brentford at Old Trafford, when Scott McTominay scored twice in injury time, their record in the second half isn't great. It will go down as a second-half draw in West
London on Saturday, but United have now won the second half away from home in just three of their 15 matches in the league this season. The last time they won a second half on the road in the league was at Everton on November 26. It is a depressing and worrying trend and it is one that usually ends up with fingers being pointed at the coaching staff. Getting a game plan wrong from the start is never ideal, but there is always a chance to fix it. On Saturday, United were fortunate to be level at the break. They should have improved after half-time. That they didn't isn't good news for Ten Hag.