The things Manchester United can do to stop Brentford from scoring early.

After Manchester United’s rough start to the season, Eric Ten Hag is under a lot of heat. If United gives up an early goal in its next game against Brentford, that pressure could get up to eleven.

Ten Hag is in trouble because Brentford has scored in each of its last four games in the first two minutes. This amazing number comes from a strategy that Brentford has mastered this season: using kick-offs as set pieces.

Since soccer games are often decided by a single goal, set-piece practices can make all the difference in the world. To get an edge, teams will hire throw-in experts as teachers and practice free kick and corner routines.

Brentford has been working on set pieces for a long time. From 2021 to the end of the 2023–24 season, they scored more set piece goals than any other team except Arsenal. However, the kick-off is also a set piece, and Thomas Frank’s team is making the most of it.

When the Bees take the ball, they aim to put pressure on the other team right away in their own half of the field. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken gets the ball back and hits it long to a target of two tall players, like defender Kristoffer Ajer, who are standing on one side of the field. To give Brentford the best chance of winning the second ball, a number of their players basically man-mark the other team’s players nearby. Then, Brentford’s players try to get the ball to one of the wings and then cross it into the penalty area to set up a chance to score.

It’s a kick-off, and the team risks losing the ball to get ground by sending a tall central defender forward early. Instead of passing the ball backwards and holding it, this is how most teams start the game.

The kick-off works better than a goal kick because Flekken can start higher up the field, which lets him see his target more clearly. The other team is already stuck in its own half, which makes them cautious. The kick-off happens right at the beginning of the game, which can catch the other team off guard.

The goal against West Ham United was scored by Brentford defender Ethan Pinnock, not the goalie. The long ball was played from a different angle, but the general strategy stayed the same.

Now, Brentford’s opponents know about this kick-off strategy. Is there something they can do to avoid it?

Winning the coin toss and choosing to take the kick-off would be one option, but Wolverhampton Wanderers still gave up an early goal to Brentford in the last round of games when they had the kick-off. Unfortunately, Wolves used a strategy that was close to Brentford’s but wasn’t carried out well enough.

The first goal in the Carabao Cup game between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United is another example.

That game, Forest tried a strategy similar to Brentford’s. It worked, but not the way Forest would have liked, as Brentford scored early on.

As a result of the kick-off strategy, one side of the field is overloaded. If the defensive team gets the ball, all they have to do to counterattack is get it to the other side of the field.

Taiwo Awoniyi, who was the goal of Forest’s long ball, was surrounded by three Newcastle players. One of these players got the ball by breaking away from Awoniyi and being free to receive the header from a teammate.

Then, Newcastle quickly passed the ball to Sandro Tonali, who was free because Forest had sent players to help Awoniyi. After two moves, Newcastle striker Alexander Isak was in on goal with a lot of other players helping him. Joe Willock tapped in the rebound after Isak’s shot was saved.

Newcastle’s success was partly due to the fact that Forest hadn’t mastered the kick-off process, especially the man-marking part that is necessary to win the second ball. In that game, Forest didn’t send an extra defender forward, so they played with a back three instead.

However, it shows two ways to stop Brentford’s kick-off move. Make sure you get the first ball, and if you can’t, foul the other team’s player to restart your defense. Second, keep your players on the half-way line so you can charge back.

It’s likely that teams have learned how to stop Brentford’s kick-off routines, so if the Bees get to kick off the game against Manchester United, don’t be surprised if they try something totally different.