Brentford manager Thomas Frank admits Manchester United showed more character than his side at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The Reds came from behind to win 2-1 following a controversial Brentford goal seconds before the half-time whistle had blown. Matthijs de Ligt had been told to leave the pitch, which Frank also suggested was an example of good refereeing…
Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund both struck after the break as United came from behind to cancel out Ethan Pinnock’s header.
It was a completely different game in the second half as United dominated. The win will go down as deserved as Brentford were second-best in every department across the pitch, with United firing back having felt aggrieved by the nature of Pinnock’s goal.
Thomas Frank’s side dominated by United in the second half
This was a sign of character and even Garnacho admitted that the anger they felt at half-time channelled into a winning performance.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Frank was asked for his assessment
“We definitely performed a good first half and felt we were the best team in that half,” Frank said, as quoted by the Manchester World.
“Definitely opposite second half, Manchester United were clearly the better team. Disappointed the second half we weren’t able to do better. We knew they would come out flying. We were way too passive. To concede a goal after two minutes disappoints me and the momentum just changed. They got on top. We lacked the quality we had in the first half and second half too many of our players didn’t hit our highest level and we need to hit our highest level if we want to beat Man United.
“They scored the second in the 62nd, I was a little bit disappointed we didn’t have a better response. I love my players, they still worked hard but they just lacked that little extra character, want the ball, getting out of tricky situations, keeping the ball and you need that if you want to win here at Old Trafford.”
