Manchester United Closer To UCL Return With Brentford Win

Manchester United have moved a step closer to playing in the UEFA Champions League next season after the Red Devils dispatched Brentford 2-1 on Monday.

The match played at Old Trafford stadium was a straightforward encounter for Michael Carrick’s clinical side, but also brought aa nervous ending with Brentford’s late goal.

The home side took the lead on 11 minutes with Casemiro’s header. The veteran Brazilian found the back of the net off Harry Maguire’s flick on from a corner kick.

The 21-time EPL champions had two goals disallowed for offside, but doubled their lead through Benjamin Sesko before the halftime break.

The big striker collected Fernandes’ pass and confidently slotted the across the goalkeeper into the net for 2-0 at halftime.

Brentford improved in the second half but were profligate in front of goal, with Igor Thiago and Dango Ouattara both guilty of missing good openings, with the former hitting the post when presented with an open goal from a cross.

The Bees eventually got their consolation goal through Mathias Jensen’s curler into the top corner.

Manchester United saw out the rest of the match despite a nervous crowd to seal a fifth consecutive win over a Brentford side without a win at Old Trafford since 1973. The visitors’ five-match draw sequence ended with the defeat, and severely dented the visitors’ European ambitions.

Manchester United on the other hand tightened their grip on third place with 61 points from 34 matches, three points ahead of both Liverpool and Aston Villa who are joint-fourth, with four games to the end of the season.