Manchester United have ended their five-game winless run across all competitions after Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund scored, making the Red Devils defeat Brentford 2-1 at Old Trafford.

The much-needed win was a huge relief for manager Erik Ten Hag, whose future at the Manchester club was under massive uncertainty as United dropped to the bottom half of the table going into the past international break.

But two second-half goals by Garnacho and Hojlund ensured the Red Devils fought back from a goal down to pick United’s only third league win in this campaign. 

United fell behind just before the halftime whistle after Ethan Pinnock comfortably headed home Mikkel Damsgaard’s corner kick.

The goal sparked protests from United’s players and officials, who were angered by the referee’s decision ordering Matthijs de Ligt to temporarily exit the game to receive treatment for his bleeding head.

The decision left United down one man for the corner kick. Ten Hag said, “It was dry blood, so nobody from us understood why he was taken off.”

Two minutes after the break, Garnacho equalised for United after he volleyed a wonderful cross from Marcus Rashford into the net. 

The goal ultimately shifted the dynamic of the tie toward the Red Devils’ side afterwards.

In the 62nd minute, Hojlund scored his first goal of the season as the Danish striker tipped a flick assist from Bruno Fernandes over goalkeeper Mark Flekken to secure the victory for the hosts.

Reacting to the win, Ten Hag said, “Pressure is always there; we have to win every game. When you are 1-0 down, we felt some injustice and used it as fuel. Definitely, we were mad; we were angered. We had the idea it was not perfect, but we controlled the game.”

Branford manager Thomas Frank said: “A lot of their key players stepped up in the second half. We knew they would come out flying; we were way too passive. The momentum changed. We lacked, if not confidence, then quality.”