Erik ten Hag urged Manchester United to use the “injustice” of Ethan Pinnock’s goal as motivation for their comeback against Brentford. Pinnock’s header put Brentford ahead in the fifth minute of stoppage time during the first half. This goal came after United’s defender Matthijs de Ligt was forced off the pitch to have a head injury checked.
De Ligt had already left the field twice to receive treatment from the medical staff for a head wound, but as he prepared for Brentford’s corner, there was still visible dried blood on his head.
Ten Hag and assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy were frustrated by the situation and were penalized for protesting. Ten Hag, however, remained adamant that referee Sam Barrott was wrong to send De Ligt to the touchline, as the blood on his head had already dried.
Ten Hag later explained, “It was dried blood, so he had already been treated for the injury. There was no reason for him to leave the field.” He added that De Ligt himself was confused by the referee’s decision, questioning why he had to come off when it was just dried blood.
Ten Hag also emphasized the importance of De Ligt’s presence during set-pieces, acknowledging Brentford’s strength in those situations.
The United manager noted that, although the team’s performance wasn’t perfect, they controlled the game and created chances. He expressed frustration over the timing of the goal, feeling that the team had limited Brentford’s opportunities but were unfairly penalized by the forced substitution.
De Ligt assured Ten Hag that he was fit to continue, and Ten Hag reiterated that there was never any consideration of substituting him due to injury. Despite the setback, United rallied in the second half. Just two minutes after the restart, Alejandro Garnacho leveled the score. Rasmus Hojlund then secured the winning goal in the 62nd minute, helping United move up to ninth place in the Premier League standings.
United’s victory ended a 317-minute goal drought in the league. Ten Hag, reflecting on the team’s struggles this season, emphasized that their main problem has been converting chances into goals, rather than creating opportunities. He expressed confidence that with Hojlund in the squad, their goalscoring issues would improve.
Hojlund, who missed the early part of the season due to a hamstring injury sustained in pre-season against Arsenal, has now scored in two of his three starts since his return to the squad. His contributions are seen as crucial to United’s efforts to regain form and climb the league table.
