Brentford 4-3 Man Utd: 3 talking points from another chaotic Red Devils defeat | OneFootball

Brentford condemned Manchester United to a record-extending 16th Premier League defeat of the season as they held off a late fightback to win 4-3 in west London on Sunday afternoon.

Mason Mount's second goal of his United career proved to be a wildly misleading start to proceedings. Brentford deservedly romped into a 2-1 lead before the interval which they extended with two more goals before the final 15 minutes of an increasingly one-sided contest.

Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo produced two individual moments of brilliance to claw back some respectability for the visitors in the closing stages, yet those efforts did little to dilute the bitter reality of United's lowly 15th-placed position.

How the game unfolded

Brentford boss Thomas Frank spoke for the outright minority when he hailed Ruben Amorim's visitors. "It's a team that is actually really structured," the Danish coach insisted. "They defend really well, they know what they want to do offensively and defensively."

A United side guaranteed to record the lowest Premier League points tally in club history fleetingly threatened to live up to Frank's lofty billing on Sunday afternoon.

It was a wonderfully crisp passing sequence which sent United spearing through the red and white stripes from the halfway line after 14 minutes. Alejandro Garnacho scuttled onto Kobbie Mainoo's perfectly weighted dink over the top before firing a cutback into the stride of the lesser-spotted Mason Mount for his first goal in 13 months. Oddly enough, his last was also at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium.

Yet, that burst of coordinated play represented a distinct anomaly compared to the remainder of the contest. Brentford swarmed all over the visitors, penning the dark blue shirts into their own defensive third while bombarding the penalty box.

A long throw in the 27th minute eventually found its way to Mikkel Damsgaard, whose stabbed effort took a kind deflection off Luke Shaw en route to the back of the net.

Kevin Schade rewarded Brentford's blatant dominance with a towering header at the back post six minutes later. United centre-back Matthijs de Ligt was prone on the turf after colliding with Yoane Wissa yet play was allowed to advance. Brentford took full advantage of United's diminished defensive ranks.

Amorim adjusted during the interval, removing Shaw and the terminally befuddled Patrick Dorgu from the firing line. After attempting just one shot across the entire opening 45 minutes, United had two in as many seconds within five minutes of the restart.

Yet, it was the hosts who struck again after the interval. Despite Frank's bizarre claims, United proved to have all the defensive solidity of a blancmange as Schade headed in his second of the afternoon on 70 minutes. The German forward was one of three Brentford players queuing up at a back post guarded by United's solitary 20-year-old centre-back Tyler Fredicson.

With the wind very much in Brentford's sails, Wissa capped off a gorgeous passing move which zig-zagged through the core of United's increasingly hypothetical rearguard to make it 4-1 with more than 15 minutes remaining.

Garnacho was one of only three players to retain their starting spot ahead of Thursday's crucial Europa League semi-final. The Argentine was left on the pitch for the full 90 minutes and struck a sumptuous effort in the closing stages to reduce United's deficit. Amad Diallo closed the gap even further with a fizzing effort which squirted between Mark Flekken's legs, although there was no undoing the damage of the previous hour and a half.

Why Brentford were allowed to play on with Matthijs de Ligt down injured

Matthijs de Ligt crumpled to the turf at the worst possible moment / JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Matthijs de Ligt has been part of Manchester United teams which have conceded three goals against Brentford this season, yet the Dutch centre-back was ruled out of action for two of those controversial strikes.

Back in October, Brentford took a first-half lead while a blood-soaked De Ligt watched Ethan Pinnock rise above a crowd to head the Bees in front. That "injustice", to use Erik ten Hag's words, was repeated on Sunday as the former Ajax defender was seated while Schade climbed an invisible staircase in the air.

De Ligt had been floored by a clash of knees with Wissa and despite his politely raised arm, there referee Anthony Taylor was under no obligation to stop play. As outlined in Law 5, the match official only brings the contest to a halt if a player is "seriously injured" or is suffering from a head injury.

Chido Obi was aged 17 years and 156 days when he made his first Premier League start for Man Utd / Alex Pantling/Getty Images

On May 4, international Star Wars day, it was fitting that Obi won the first Premier League start of his career. The youngest top-flight starter for United across the previous three decades didn't enjoy an overwhelming influence on proceedings, the 17-year-old was limited to the fewest touches of any player who featured for the full 90 minutes, but the youngster showed some spirit.

Despite repeatedly coming off second-best in his physical duels with Brentford's meaty defensive duo of Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins, Obi would not give up, battling through to take two efforts which had to be hurriedly blocked.

Unfortunately for Obi, he offered the same quality which the misfiring Rasmus Hojlund possesses in abundance. There is no shortage of exuberance in United's attacking ranks, end product is far less forthcoming.

Luke Shaw's horrorshow

Luke Shaw (left) had an afternoon to forget / JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

The match was not yet five minutes old by the time Shaw narrowly avoided a bone-headed blunder, heading a long punt forward while under no pressure beyond Altay Bayindir. Fortunately for the returning defender, his errant back pass bounced a yard past the post.

Shaw wasn't so fortunate in the 27th minute, as Damsgaard's stabbed effort deflected off his chest and into the net.

The injury-prone defender scarcely seemed to have control of the ball even when it was bouncing off his body towards United's goal. By the end of a disorientating opening 45 minutes, Shaw was left whirling around like a lone suitcase on the airport luggage carousel with the captain armband's wrapped over its strap.

Amorim insisted after the match that the defender had been hooked at the interval to preserve him for Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Club, although that excuse didn't cover up a disastrous outing for a playing still working his way back to full fitness.

Check out player ratings from Brentford 4-3 Man Utd here.