Uninspired Man United lucky to draw at Brentford in dramatic finish

LONDON (AP) — Under Alex Ferguson, Manchester United were famous for scoring decisive winning goals late in matches.

There is nothing comparable under the helm of current coach Erik ten Hag, who witnessed his players relinquish an undeserved lead deep in stoppage time and draw at Brentford 1-1 in the English Premier League on Saturday.

Following yet another uninspired display that further dented the club’s Champions League hopes, Manchester United were in sixth place, eight points behind fifth-placed Tottenham.

Brentford players kept United goalkeeper Andre Onana busy — he made four saves — and hit the woodwork four times.

Totally against the run of the play, United took the lead in stoppage time through substitute Mason Mount’s effort past Mark Flekken.

With victory in sight, United conceded three minutes later when Ivan Toney cut the ball back inside the area for the unmarked Kristoffer Ajer, who bagged his second goal in two matches to level.

“When you go 1-0 up right at the end you want to try and hang onto that,” Mount said. “If you look at the game overall it wasn’t to our standard. We know that. When you score at the death you think you can maybe hang on. But maybe we didn’t deserve it.”

Brentford battered United all night long but a cruel lack of efficiency prevented the Bees from a repeat of their 4-0 home win against the United in August 2022 in Ten Hag’s second match in charge.

Brentford, which moved five points clear of the relegation zone, had 31 attempts at goal before finding the net.