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Manchester United player Matthijs de Ligt and the coaching team were left incensed by Brentford’s opener at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Luckily the Red Devils were able to turn the match around 2-1 through strikes from Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund after a much-improved second half display.
The Bees took the lead however in the fifth minute of additional time in the first half, when Ethan Pinnock thundered in a header from a corner.
United were specifically frustrated by the goal as it happened when they were down to ten men for a third time in the half when De Ligt had to leave the pitch numerous times due to bleeding from a head injury picked up earlier in the half.
The video below shows the furious reaction of both player and his coach Ruud van Nistelrooy by the goal.
De Ligt is clearly aggravated he has had to leave the pitch and denied the opportunity to help his team defend the corner and he is left enraged by the result.
As soon as the Bees score, he smashes a ball into the advertising hoardings and can be seen walking away from the physios and officials visibly complaining about the decision to remove him from the field of play.
Van Nistelrooy also enters the scene at this stage and is clearly raging at the goal, getting up close and personal with the fourth official Gavin Ward, before finally being shown a yellow card. Despite not being seen in the video, manager Erik ten Hag was also cautioned for his dissent.
Wow! What a drama here at Old Trafford – de Ligt told to go off to treat the wound before Brentford can take their corner
Brentford scores. And it explodes.For @ViaplayFotball pic.twitter.com/6yhajVQZLP
— Jan Aage Fjørtoft 🇳🇴 (@JanAageFjortoft) October 19, 2024
The Manchester Evening News also report that United’s anger wasn’t just restricted to the pitch but also in the tunnel at half-time.
“First-team coach Darren Fletcher, who had vacated his seat in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand to return to the dressing room and missed the goal, went ballistic at the fourth official. Fletcher did resurface for the second half.”
After the match, Ten Hag claimed he and his coaches were left perplexed by the decision to take De Ligt off as he wasn’t bleeding and it was only “dry blood”.
The under-fire coach also claimed that his side’s much-improved second half display was also due to the motivation his team drew from their sense of injustice over the opening goal.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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