Manchester United escaped another disappointment at home against Brentford, Aston Villa and Brighton won (again).
Manchester United put behind them a series of three matches without a win or goal scored in the league this Saturday at the expense of Brentford (2-1) at Old Trafford, a welcome success for coach Erik ten Hag who is more than ever in the hot seat.
The team led by the Dutchman, fourteenth at kick-off, moved up to tenth place while awaiting the final matches of the eighth day. Since their previous victory, on September 14 at the promoted Southampton (3-0), the «Red Devils» had a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace, a 3-0 defeat against Tottenham and another 0-0 draw against Aston Villa. They had also been unable to win in the Europa League against Twente (1-1) and Porto (3-3) in the meantime.
This Saturday, however, everything started very badly. The Reds Devils returned to the locker room to a few whistles. For good reason, they had just conceded a header from Ethan Pinnock from a corner (45th + 5, 0-1) while their defender Matthijs de Ligt, with a bloody scalp, had been asked once again to leave the field to get treatment.
The pressure put on their opponent, as well as their constant offensive ambitions, were however rewarded in the second half with two nice goals. Winger Alejandro Garnacho (48th, 1-1) first placed a nice recovery on a perfectly measured cross by Marcus Rashford. Danish center forward Rasmus Hojlund then offered victory with a small ball from the left (62nd, 2-1) after a subtle deflection from Bruno Fernandes, his first goal of the season in the league.
Manchester United will look to continue their recovery next weekend at West Ham.
Aston Villa and Brighton maintain their course
Aston Villa came from behind to beat Fulham 3-1 in a highly entertaining Premier League match at Craven Cottage in which the home side missed a penalty and both teams finished with 10 men.
Fulham took the lead in the fifth minute through Raul Jimenez, but Villa equalized four minutes later after a Morgan Rogers shot was deflected away. Andreas Pereira saw his penalty saved and the two teams were level at the break. Ollie Watkins’ header gave Villa the lead just before the hour mark and things went from bad to worse for Fulham: first Joachim Andersen was sent off, then Issa Diop sent the ball into his own net.
Villa had no trouble maintaining their lead and extending their unbeaten run to six league games, despite Jaden Philogene’s late red card. This victory allows them to move up to fourth place in the standings with 17 points, while Fulham remains ninth with 11 points.
Brighton also continues its good series. Thanks to a goal from the inexhaustible Danny Welbeck in the first half against the run of play, Hurzeler’s men were able to win 1-0 at Newcastle United this Saturday. The home team’s lack of precision in front of goal extended their run of four matches without a win in the Premier League.
With the return of striker Alexander Isak from a toe injury, Newcastle dominated the start of the match but struggled to convert their abundant possession into shots on target. Welbeck showed them the way in the 35th minute, breaking into the box to slip the ball past Nick Pope and give Brighton the lead. Newcastle’s accuracy improved in the second half, but shots on target lacked power and precision, while Brighton looked dangerous every time they crossed the halfway line.
Dan Burn finally managed to get the ball into the Brighton net in the sixth minute of second-half injury time, but he was offside and the goal was disallowed. The Seagulls held on to secure a victory that sees them move up to fifth in the table with 15 points, while Newcastle remain in eighth place with 12 points.
The results of the 8th day
Tottenham – West Ham 4 – 1
Manchester United – Brentford 2 – 1
Newcastle – Brighton 0 – 1
Southampton – Leicester 2 – 3
Fulham – Aston Villa 1 – 3
Ipswich Town – Everton 0 – 2
