Erik ten Hag says Manchester United’s stunning stoppage-time turnaround against Brentford has to be the “turning point” in their season.
The afterglow from a promising first season under the Dutchman has long since dimmed, with the mood threatening to darken further before the international break.
Mathias Jensen put Brentford on course for a famous Old Trafford win as United entered second-half stoppage time staring down the barrel of a fifth defeat in their opening eight league matches.
But super sub Scott McTominay had other ideas. Introduced in the 87th minute, he fired United level in the 93rd minute and four minutes later headed home to seal a scarcely believable 2-1 comeback win.
“This has to be a turning point but also it has to be a restart because we have to get into higher levels,” United boss Ten Hag said.
“But the spirit is good, the belief is good, the team is together.
“We have shown that, we have shown strong character and it can be the turning point in the season but it’s up to us.
“Those games give fuel to a dressing room. They know how far they have to go to get results.
“It can’t be easy going and in football, it’s eat or you get eaten.
“Too many times in the first half of the season we have got eaten by opponents who are more hungry, and this can’t be. It has to go away.
“Every player, every second he is on the pitch, he has to deliver that. That is the demand and the standard.
“When you do that, we have seen last season that you get a determined team.
“We were not always determined on every occasion in games and you get hammered for it and this has to change.”
McTominay was the fifth and final substitution made by Ten Hag as United desperately looked to avoid a third straight Old Trafford defeat in all competitions.
The homegrown midfielder was linked with a summer move but stayed and came up trumps on Saturday, when he admitted he could not quite hear Ten Hag’s instructions when bringing him on.
McTominay reckoned his manager “probably said something like ‘go on and score’,” but the grinning Dutchman said: “I said score two goals!
“It says a lot (about his mentality). He’s Man United in everything, in his heart. He’s playing for the badge, he gives his life.
“When you’re coming on and you give this to the team, that tells a lot. That also tells a lot about this dressing room, they are together.
“And also I felt the whole afternoon a strong togetherness with the fans because even when we are losing they kept standing behind us.
“They kept us going, the team kept going and finally we get rewarded.”
Brentford were just moments away from a famous first Old Trafford win since 1937, only to be denied their second victory of the season at the death.
Bees head coach Thomas Frank said: “When you’re leading 1-0 into three minutes injury time and then lose, I think that’s unfair.
“I think if you were winning there you would all say ‘well done, tough game for Brentford, deserved win’.
“When they equalised, probably you could say ‘OK, 1-1 is probably fair’.
“I think that we played close to a perfect first half, very aggressive in the high pressure, very brave on the ball, good on the counters, defended well.
“I think it was a well-deserved 1-0 lead that first half.
“Second half we get more under pressure. Of course, we’re playing against Man United at Old Trafford. They have to win.
“I know when it’s good for other managers. I’m happy for Erik but of course not happy for myself that we didn’t win, because I think he would probably have faced a pretty brutal room if he’d lost.”
Keane doubts Man Utd will crack top four under Amorim this season
Roy Keane does not believe Manchester United will get back into the Premier League's top four under Ruben Amorim this season due to a "real lack of quality".
The Red Devils legend was speaking after United started life under the Portuguese with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, as Omari Hutchinson cancelled out Marcus Rashford's second-minute opener.
Keane acknowledged Amorim has to be given time to turn things around at Old Trafford, but does not see United cracking the top four this season.
"You have to give the man a chance," Keane told Sky Sports. "But the threat going forward, it's a huge problem for Man Utd. It's not good enough.
"Do I believe they have the quality to get them back to top four? Absolutely not. The evidence is not there. It's the same old stuff. Predictable and a real lack of quality."
United created 0.9 xG compared to Ipswich's 1.75 and had fewer shots on target (four) compared to Ipswich (six) at Portman Road.
They did have more touches in the opposition box (16 to 11) but had fewer final-third entries (48 to 61) and big chances created (two to three).
Ipswich were extremely resilient opponents after their early setback, and Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna praised his side, particularly Hutchinson after he grabbed his first Premier League goal.
"I thought he (Hutchinson) was a big threat first half, naturally more a winger, but most teams are going to press us high and in the spaces in the middle of the pitch having a dribbler in the middle of the pitch who's elusive and hard to pick up can be a big threat," he told Sky Sports.
"I think it's his first goal in the Premier League he'll be happy to have that of his back and he's improving."
"The first half, it's a blow to concede the early goal but I thought as the half went on we grew in the ascendancy, and the intensity of pressing and work on the ball.
"I thought we were the dominant team in the first half and deserved to be going in at least level. Second half in fairness, Man Utd had more control. It was difficult, we had to defend with real discipline on shape."
Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.
Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who still have a game in hand on leaders Barca, who were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Mbappe ended a goal drought of over 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of their own area.
Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.
Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar, as Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins.
Data Debrief: Dirty work pays off for Madrid
Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on their way to victory on Sunday.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid have now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season – the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.
This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition.
Napoli 1-0 Roma: Lukaku downs former club on Ranieri's return
Claudio Ranieri's Roma return was spoilt by Romelu Lukaku, whose goal against his old club sealed a 1-0 win for Napoli.
Ranieri was appointed Roma boss over the international break, with the 73-year-old coming out of retirement to take charge of the club for a third time.
Yet it was ex-Roma striker Lukaku who decided Sunday's contest at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with his 54th-minute effort sending Antonio Conte's team back to the top of Serie A.
Lukaku was well-placed to convert from Giovanni Di Lorenzo's cutback, bringing up his fifth Serie A goal of the campaign.
Roma, who had just two attempts and managed only 0.07 expected goals (xG) in the first half, woke up after Lukaku's goal, with Artem Dovbyk powering a header off the woodwork from a free-kick minutes later, but the visitors' comeback attempts proved fruitless.
Ranieri's next task is to rally his troops for a Europa League clash with Tottenham on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Ranieri's underwhelming return
There was no sign of an immediate upturn for 12th-place Roma, if they were hoping for a new-coach bounce.
Roma ended the first half with fewer than 70 successful passes (68). It is the first time they have had so few successful passes in the opening half of a league game since 2004-05.
With only three wins to their name in the league, they have won fewer than four matches in their opening 13 Serie A games for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign (also three).
And of course, it had to be Lukaku, who was leading their line last season, that delivered the hammer blow. The Belgium international has been involved in nine goals in Serie A this term (five goals, four assists). Only his former Everton club-mate Ademola Lookman, now a star at Atalanta, has contributed to more goals in the competition (seven goals, four assists).
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