Sound tactic from Brentford: punt the ball towards the left-back. Alvaro Fernandez may only be 19 and without a senior appearance to his name but he is entitled to knock on Rangnick’s door and ask how Telles is playing ahead of him.
The stadium is quite full and, other than the smell of smoke before kick-off, you would not know there has been a protest outside (assuming there has been one). Everyone is waiting for the 73rd minute, in that respect.
Smoke has emanated from the concourse and its whiff was unmistakable in the press room. It remains to be seen how effective tonight’s protests are or what coverage they get from the shadowy group behind them but this could be the last hurrah for the season, what with treks to Brighton and Crystal Palace after Brentford.
Jaap Stam has just been paraded on the pitch to plug the upcoming exhibition game on the final weekend of the season. That is a hard sell at the best of times, never mind at the end of his spineless season.
Stam is Dutch and a coach, so he has been linked with joining Ten Hag’s backroom staff, which is probably why United want him to speak more. In that case, they should be more proactive in making him available to media outlets.
Bruno Fernandes volleyed Manchester United into the lead after excellent work from Anthony Elanga.
Elanga beat the offside trap when making a run in behind and managed to steer a cross towards Fernandes who volleyed home.
The young winger had a tough task even keeping the ball on the pitch, but perfectly delivered the ball onto Fernandes’ foot to volley home.
— Troll Football (@UKTrollFootball) May 3, 2022