Man United beat Brentford 2-1, and here are four things we learned from it.

In the first goal of the game, Ethan Pinnock scored it without being touched, giving Manchester United hope that their recent good play would continue.

But United scored to tie the game just two minutes into the second half. Alejandro Garnacho met Marcus Rashford’s cross with a great strike at the back post.

After 15 minutes, Rasmus Hojlund scored his first Premier League goal with a chip, giving Erik ten Hag’s team a second goal.

United has moved up three spots in the Premier League table and is now in 11th place.

Rashford seemed to be back to his best.

Today, Marcus Rashford showed once again why he is still a strong candidate for a spot at United. He was an important part of the attack.

Rashford looks a lot like he did two seasons ago. He makes important challenges and tracks back to stop Brentford’s threat on the break.

His 17 goals in the 2022–23 season might not be reached this season, but he has shown that he is dedicated to ten Hag.

The United manager’s decision to put Rashford on the right and Garnacho on the left was a key part of how well the Reds’ offense worked today.

It looks like the English player can pass the ball better when he’s on that side. It was nice to see a fluid attack work well.

De Ligt and Evans worked well together.

Since Harry Maguire hurt his knee and will be out for a while, there aren’t any healthy left backs to choose from and Noussair Mazraoui has just returned from heart surgery, so the question was what defense would ten Hag start?

Today, Diogo Dalot, Matthijs de Ligt, Jonny Evans, and Lisandro Martínez all played their first game for United.

This was Diogo Dalot’s first start as a right back this season, since the Argentine filled in at left back.

When United had the ball and when they didn’t, they looked calm. They didn’t make any quick, risky plays, so it looked like they were trying to do the basics right.

Evans’ experience has been clear since his time at United, and it was the same today. De Ligt also had a great game, which could be his best as a Red Devil so far this season.

It was good hold-up play by Hojlund.
When Rasmus Hojlund started the third straight game up front, he looked like he was back to his best.

He has made a huge improvement in his game since his last two games against Aston Villa and Porto, as well as his appearances when he came off the bench.

Today, it helped the home team that he could hold the ball up well with his back to the goal and drive forward with it or make a foul.

In the 62nd minute, United’s number nine scored a goal that he earned. He showed a different side of his game by playing behind the defense.

The Danish player played well, and United looked like they were back to their best in the second half.

It was more of an attack. After Pinnock’s goal, United had two great chances in the second half to score. Kevin Schade and Christian Nørgaard both had chances.

A lot of United fans may have thought this was a script they had seen before when they were down 1-0 at halftime.

At Old Trafford’s halftime, though, the script was changed to include a new style of attacking play that hadn’t been seen much this season so far.

A big part of the second-half plan was to attack with flair and send long balls behind Garnacho and Rashford for them to catch.

With the players we have now, that first half almost felt like a quick look at “the United way.”

In the Europa League on Thursday, Manchester United will play Fenerbahçe from Turkey.