Seriously though, what are we gonna do without Casemiro?

That was his best this season in my opinion. I thought he was superb in what turned out to be a man of the match-winning performance.

But honestly, how the bloody hell did that end up just 2-1?!

‍

Looking back on that game, you had Mainoo moving like prime Iniesta in the first couple of minutes to create a chance for Amad who ended up missing an open goal. Unc then scores his 9th of the season in the 11th minute to give us a deserved lead. We then sit back and Brentford grow into the game. Igor Thiago should've scored a hat-trick. Heaven looked like he wanted to score for Brentford as he almost scored 2 OGs. Lammens had to make three BIG saves to keep us in the game. Maguire had a header cleared off the line and then United hit them with a sucker punch as a breakaway saw Sesko score his 10th in the PL while Bruno picked up his 19th assist. The Bees then score late in the game to make it a nervy last few minutes. And, we even saw the return of the notorious back three!

Yes, ALL of those things happened. This is why I say I don't know how it ended just 2-1.

‍

United started the game off brilliantly, which isn't something we've said a lot recently. That's what resulted in four corners in the opening 10 minutes. Casemiro headed home from one of these after a deep Bruno cross was headed towards the Brazilian by Maguire before he did the rest.

How many headers does this guy score? I feel like all of his goals have been headers.

And his 9th of the season as well?! for a CDM?!

Nah bro, this MF something else ✨.

‍

While that was the best start we've had this campaign, or at least under Carrick, it was always about seeing whether this team can sustain such intensity and pressure.

They couldn't.

Whether through fatigue or tactical instructions from the manager, United sat back and allowed Brentford more possession. This saw them grow in confidence to a point where we really were hanging on.

The Bees were causing us a lot of problems down both flanks with poor marking being the reason as to why they looked threatening when they went forward.

An unusually high line was also implemented and that caught United out as well. Heaven in particular was struggling against Thiago.

All of this led to Lammens having to play like prime de Gea as his three stops in quick succession maintained our lead as we easily could've been behind.

That second goal just before halftime was exactly what we needed. That breathing was key as Brentford were all over United until that point.

Great composure by Sesko before he slotted it into the back of the net.

‍

Carrick did do something that I've been critical of him for: make an early change.

At halftime, he brought on Mazraoui for Amad who was having a poor game. This was tactical, not forced due to injury, which made the call even more interesting.

This meant United reverted to that highly-crticized back three which won Ruben Amorim so much of stick.

I sort of understood why Carrick did it because we were so open, but I didn't like it. I thought it was too early to go that defensive in a game against Brentford at home. We needed to get back on the ball and play the opening 15 minutes of the second half like we did in the first. Brentford also had the wind knocked out of them with that second goal so I believe there was an opportunity to go and get the 3rd.

This defensive approach didn't hurt us in the end and if anything, proved to be the right call because we were a lot more assured in defense. But that took away all of our attacking threat as United created very little in the second half.

Of course, things didn't end there as a beauty of a strike by Mathias Jensen in the 87th minute made for a nervy finale to the game.

Luckily though, United managed to hold out and get the job done.

‍

And that seems to be the thing with Carrick: getting the job done.

Now for some, that is all they want. Picking up 3 points and climbing the table is enough for them to say give him the job.

But for me, and a lot of people are coming around to this fact, is that, it's about more than just results. That is of course, very important. Yet at United, we need to see a style that we can proud of. We need to see good football. And right now, we're not getting that.

It was again, another match where moments, individuals, set-pieces or counters got us the win. And one of the key players is someone who is leaving.

Casemiro's goals have been invaluable and on top of that, he brings so much to the table. Those cheap fouls he won at the end are great examples of this. Those weren't fouls. We all knew it. Casemiro knew it. But he also knew the referee would buy it and we could just see the game through.

That is experience. The dark arts as they call it.

Who else in our team would do that?

These moments are going to be gone next season. Can we also rely heavily on individuals, counter-attacks and set-pieces to keep getting us over the line?

We're getting away with it.

‍

Right now, it's difficult to see because winning and qualifying for the UCL can blind you into thinking that all is well.

But to be MUFC manager, it goes beyond results.

Playing like this next season and I think we get found out very quickly.

Something needs to change.

And fast.

‍

Ratings

Lammens - 9 MOTM

‍

Dalot - 6.5

Heaven - 6.5

Maguire - 7

Shaw - 6.5

‍

Mainoo - 7.5

Casemiro - 9

‍

Mbeumo - 5

Bruno - 7

Amad - 5

‍

Sesko - 7

‍

Mazraoui - 7

Mount - 6

Yoro - 6

Zirkzee - 6

‍

Carrick - 6

‍

Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko score in Man Utd's 2-1 win over Brentford | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)