In sweltering conditions in west London the hosts were 4-0 up after 35 minutes as horrible errors from David de Gea led to goals for Josh Dasilva and Mathias Jensen. Ben Mee and Bryan Mbuemo then added a goal each and Erik ten Hag looked stunned on the sidelines.
The win means Brentford have four points from their opening two games of the season and as good as they were, the bigger story is United losing their first two games of the season to Brighton and Brentford.
Erik ten Hag has become the first Man United manager since 1921 (101 years) to lose his first two games in charge in a season. The records are stacking up for United. And they’re not good ones.
What we learned from Brentford vs Manchester United
United are in bigger trouble than we thought: Where on earth do we start with this start to the season? Two shambolic displays against Brighton and Brentford, especially defensively, and it appears United’s squad is severely lacking confidence and have been left scarred by their shocking finish to last season. That is going to take a long time to fix. If it can be fixed with this group of players. It probably can’t be fixed.
Ronaldo needs to leave, fast: He had his hands on his hips more times in the first half than I’ve had a pie and a pint (that is very, very often) and Ronaldo just doesn’t want to be there. Whenever United made a mistake the camera panned to him, obviously, and the reaction was one of pure disgust. Ronaldo doesn’t want to be at United and in his first start since his plan to move away this summer collapsed, it was evident he cannot operate in this Erik ten Hag system. The sooner Ronaldo leaves United the better.
Bees are a vibey team, especially at home: Brentford have beaten Arsenal at home, drawn with Liverpool and Tottenham and have now hammered Manchester United. When they are in a groove like this, they are hard to stop. Thomas Frank’s energy and enthusiasm is seen in his team and they are the ultimate momentum team. When the big boys arrive at the Gtech Community Stadium, they know they’re in for one heck of a scrap.
This actually isn’t Erik ten Hag’s fault: There was a calmness about Erik ten Hag as he stood on the sidelines in the first half as his side crumbled on the pitch. After a few months of training sessions and only a couple of new signings, can he really be blamed for the mess he’s inherited? Peter Drury’s commentary summed it up best: ‘What has he gotten himself into?’ Erik ten Hag is thinking exactly that right now.
Tactical focus
The glaring defensive errors were obvious but it was the lack of bite in midfield, the standoffishness of the entire United team and the way their full backs were left exposed which really stood out. Rashford and Sancho left Shaw and Dalot hanging and Brentford took full advantage of it with Toney and Mbuemo pulling wide and dragging Maguire and Martinez all over the place. It was a masterclass of pulling defenders into areas they didn’t want to be in and then ruthlessly making the most of it. Brentford pressed United high, early and often and the Red Devils had no answer at all for it.
Ivan Toney: Ran United’s defense all over the place and set up Mbuemo with a lovely assist. The talisman.
Mathias Jensen: Pressed superbly as he scored the second, dictated the tempo and whipped a free kick just wide. Classy display in central midfield.
What’s next?
Brentford have a huge west London derby at Fulham on Saturday, Aug. 20, while Manchester United have the small matter of playing against bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday, Aug. 22. The latter could get very ugly.
How to watch Brentford vs Manchester United live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 12:30pm ET, Saturday TV Channel: NBC Online: Stream via NBCSports.com
Brentford vs Manchester United live analysis! – By Joe Prince-Wright at the Gtech Community Stadium
FULL TIME: Brentford 4-0 Manchester United – A historic win for Brentford, their first for over 85 years in the top-flight against Manchester United. For United, well, this was horrific and underlines just how much work Erik ten Hag has to do.
The United fans are making a bit of noise in the corner as they have to generate their own entertainment. Eriksen did whip in a cross which Ronaldo whiffed on about 10 yards out. And that sums up United’s day quite nicely. Just over 10 minutes to go.
United are doing their best damage limitation job here, as Eriksen nods a free header straight at David Raya. Brentford don’t have to take risks and are waltzing to victory here.
😱 My face sums it up. What an incredible first half here at Brentford. #BrentfordFC were sensational. #MUFC all over the place. Shocking!
Second half is underway. Not that Manchester United fans want to hear that. Ronaldo heads wide, much to the delight of the home fans.
Triple substitution at half time for United. Varane, McTominay and Malacia on for Martinez, Fred and Shaw. Erik ten Hag wishes he could make 11 subs…
🚨 WATCH LIVE: Brentford 4-0 Manchester United at half time!@JPW_NBCSports at the Gtech Stadium: "This is one of the most shocking 45 minutes of Premier League action I've ever seen. #BrentfordFC in dreamland. #MUFC utterly shambolic."
GOALLL! 4-0 to Brentford. This is not a joke. Toney slots in Mbeumo and this place goes wild. I cannot believe I am typing this. Brentford 4-0 Manchester United.
IT'S 4-0!
Brentford are dominating Manchester United. It's Bryan Mbeumo who finds the back of the net.
GOALLL! Brentford are 2-0 up. A horrendous pass from David de Gea puts Christian Eriksen under pressure and Jensen wins the ball back in United’s box and slots home. The stadium has gone bonkers.
Calamity at the back for Manchester United as Mathias Jensen pounces on the mistake and doubles Brentford's lead!
Brentford having a real go now. They smell blood. Harry Maguire booked and Jensen whips the dangerous free kick just wide.
GOALLL! Brentford 1-0 up and that is a proper howler from David de Gea. Josh Dasilva with a low shot which somehow squirms past the United goalkeeper as time seemed to stand still. Horrible moment for David de Gea. This place is bouncing now. The last thing Erik ten Hag wanted…
"The bees. Sting. INSTANTLY."
De Gea fumbles Josh Dasilva's shot into the goal. Brentford lead Manchester United 1-0. #BrentfordFC
KICK OFF: We are underway here in Brentford. United have started okay with Marcus Rashford surging forward and finding Cristiano Ronaldo who goes down looking for a free kick. He didn’t get one and was not happy. At all.
What a noise here in Brentford! This place is rocking. Here we go.
The sprinklers are on ahead of kick off as the sun continues to beat down.
Hello from sweltering west London! What a scorcher here, as a heat wave surges across England this weekend. I’ll have analysis from what is hopefully a red-hot clash here between Brentford and Manchester United, as the latter really need a piece of this glorious sunshine to brighten up the negative vibes swirling around them. Okay, I’ll stop with the weather puns. For now…
Key storylines
Brentford have once again recruited smartly, signing Aaron Hickey, Keane Lewis-Potter and Mikkel Damsgaard to strengthen their squad. Yes, losing Christian Eriksen (who is now at Manchester United) was a blow, but the team unit that Thomas Frank has created is extremely strong. Brentford are determined to prove they weren’t just a one-season wonder in the Premier League and getting off to a fast start to the season was so crucial to their eventual 13th place finish last term. The Bees have caused problems for the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool at home in the past and they will hope to do the same against United, although they did lose heavily to United on both occasions last season.
Manchester United have so many storylines swirling around them on a daily basis it is hard to keep track. And most of them aren’t positive. From Cristiano Ronaldo wanting to leave and now being stuck at the club to Erik ten Hag tasting defeat in his first game in charge and the botched attempts to sign Marko Arnautovic (fan unrest reportedly brought that deal to its knees), it remains a bit of a mess. On the pitch Erik ten Hag didn’t see many positives as his side were dominated by Brighton and deserved to lose their opening game. One of the big question marks is around their defense and whether or not captain Harry Maguire will start with Raphael Varane waiting in the wings.
Also, the summer-long pursuit of Frenkie de Jong seems to have been fruitless so Adrien Rabiot is the man United now want to sign to dictate the tempo of their play from midfield. It seems like it will not be smooth sailing in Erik ten Hag’s early days in charge and this trip to Brentford has an upset alert flashing all over it. It also seems like Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, will come back into the starting lineup to try and spark United into life with some of his trademark magic.
In-form players to keep an eye on
Bryan Mbuemo and Ivan Toney continue to look a real handful and the latter scored at Leicester last time out. Keep an eye on new signing Keane Lewis-Potter as he looks a real talent.
For United, well, nobody is in decent form based on their opener but the likes of Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford will be hoping to try and bring some of their decent preseason form to the PL.
Brentford team news, injuries, lineup
The Bees have a bit of a defensive injury crisis as center backs Kristoffer Ajer and Ethan Pinnock are both out. Sergi Canos is also out with a hamstring issue.
Brandon Williams is out, while Anthony Martial is still out after suffering a knee injury. Facundo Pellistri is also struggling with an ankle sprain and Victor Lindelof is out.
With nine teams currently separated by four points, from 20th to 12th places, the 2022-23 Premier League relegation scrap is not only set to last until the final day, but the final two months of the season are sure to be one of the wildest roller-coaster rides of all time.
Three clubs will be relegated from the Premier League (and replaced by three teams from the EFL Championship, of course) at season’s end. Never before have this many clubs been this close to the bottom-three, and the bottom of the table, at this point of a season.
How many games remaining between relegation candidates?
There are 23 remaining head-to-head matchups between the nine teams currently in the relegation battle.
Crystal Palace: 8 games (1 against every other team)
Wolves: 4 games
Leeds: 5 games
Everton: 4 games
Nottingham Forest: 4 games
Leicester: 6 games
West Ham: 5 games
Bournemouth: 6 games
Southampton: 4 games
Remember: you can watch all 380 Premier League games across NBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com and Peacock. We’ve got you covered.
Will Manchester City win yet another Premier League title? Can Arsenal push them all the way? Will Chelsea and Liverpool recover to finish in the top four? Can Manchester United’s new-look side surge into the title race? What about Tottenham? How will the new boys get on? Who will be the surprise package?
Those questions will be answered from August 2022 to May 2023, with the full list of Premier League fixtures.
While below are the answers to all of the questions you have around the Premier League fixtures and everything else you need to know for the upcoming season, with full details on the Premier League TV schedule across the NBC family of channels and more.
The Premier League fixtures for the 2022-23 season were announced on Thursday June 16, 2022 at 4am ET. Below is the full schedule, as you can watch all 380 games across our NBC platforms.
The Premier League fixture computer decides who plays who and when, as teams located close to one another are usually playing at home on opposite weekends to help with policing, crowd control and transport congestion in those areas.
When will the Premier League take a break for the 2022 World Cup?
When will the 2022-23 Premier League season finish?
The final day of the season will be on Sunday, May 28, 2023.
Which teams will compete in the 2022-23 Premier League?
These are the 20 teams which will compete in the Premier League for the upcoming season:
Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Predictions for 2022-23 Premier League season
We made a few bold predictions ahead of the Premier League campaign, which you can read in full here. And we’ve also predicted how we think the Premier League table will look at the end of the 2022-23 campaign. I’m sure you agree wholeheartedly with these predictions…
2022-23 Premier League TV schedule
Below are the Premier League fixtures in full, with all kick offs listed at 10am ET unless otherwise stated:
2:45pm: AFC Bournemouth v Brighton
2:45pm: Leeds v Nottingham Forest
2:45pm: Leicester vs Aston Villa
3pm: Chelsea vs Liverpool
Wednesday 5 April
3pm: Man United v Brentford
3pm: West Ham v Newcastle
Matchweek 30
Saturday 8 April
7:30am: Man Utd v Everton
Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
Brentford v Newcastle
Fulham v West Ham
Leicester v AFC Bournemouth
Spurs v Brighton
Wolves v Chelsea
12:30pm: Southampton v Man City
Sunday 9 April
9am: Leeds v Crystal Palace
11:30am: Liverpool v Arsenal
Matchweek 31
Saturday 15 April
7:30am: Aston Villa v Newcastle
Chelsea v Brighton
Everton v Fulham
Southampton v Crystal Palace
Spurs v AFC Bournemouth
Wolves v Brentford
12:30pm: Man City v Leicester
Sunday 16 April
9am: West Ham v Arsenal
11:30am: Nottingham Forest v Man Utd
Monday 17 April
3pm: Leeds v Liverpool
Matchweek 32
Friday 21 April
3pm: Arsenal v Southampton
Saturday 22 April
7:30am: Fulham v Leeds
Brentford v Aston Villa
Crystal Palace v Everton
Leicester v Wolves
Liverpool v Nottingham Forest
Sunday 23 April
9am: AFC Bournemouth v West Ham
9am: Newcastle v Spurs
Postponed due to European action
Man Utd v Chelsea
Brighton v Man City
Matchweek 33
Tuesday 25 April
2:30pm: Wolves v Crystal Palace
2:45pm: Aston Villa v Fulham
2:45pm: Leeds v Leicester
Wednesday 26 April
2:30pm: Nottingham Forest v Brighton
2:45pm: Chelsea v Brentford
2:45pm: West Ham v Liverpool
3pm: Man City v Arsenal
Thursday 27 April
2:45pm: Everton v Newcastle
2:45pm: Southampton v AFC Bournemouth
3:15pm: Spurs v Man Utd
Matchweek 34
Saturday 29 April
7:30am: Crystal Palace v West Ham
Brentford v Nottingham Forest
Brighton v Wolves
12:30pm: Arsenal v Chelsea
Sunday 30 April
9am: AFC Bournemouth v Leeds
9am: Fulham v Man City
9am: Man Utd v Aston Villa
9am: Newcastle v Southampton
11:30am: Liverpool v Spurs
Monday 1 May
3pm: Leicester v Everton
Rearranged games
Wednesday 3 May
3pm: Liverpool v Fulham
3pm: Man City v West Ham
Thursday 4 May
3pm: Brighton v Man Utd
Matchweek 35
Saturday 6 May
AFC Bournemouth v Chelsea
Spurs v Crystal Palace
Wolves v Aston Villa
12:30pm: Liverpool v Brentford
Sunday 7 May
9am: Man City v Leeds* subject to possible Champions League schedule
11:30am: Newcastle v Arsenal
2pm: West Ham v Man Utd
Monday 8 May
10am: Fulham v Leicester
12:30pm: Brighton v Everton
3pm: Nottingham Forest v Southampton
Saturday 13 May
Arsenal v Brighton
Aston Villa v Spurs
Brentford v West Ham
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest
Crystal Palace v AFC Bournemouth
Everton v Man City
Leeds v Newcastle
Leicester v Liverpool
Man Utd v Wolves
Southampton v Fulham
Saturday 20 May
AFC Bournemouth v Man Utd
Brighton v Southampton
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Liverpool v Aston Villa
Man City v Chelsea
Newcastle v Leicester
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal
Spurs v Brentford
West Ham v Leeds
Wolves v Everton
Sunday 28 May
16:00 Arsenal v Wolves
16:00 Aston Villa v Brighton
16:00 Brentford v Man City
16:00 Chelsea v Newcastle
16:00 Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest
16:00 Everton v AFC Bournemouth
16:00 Leeds v Spurs
16:00 Leicester v West Ham
16:00 Man Utd v Fulham
16:00 Southampton v Liverpool
Who’s looking like title contenders and/or favorites?
As we head into the final months of the 2022-23 season, Arsenal and Manchester City are looking head and shoulders above the rest and although Manchester United briefly surged into the picture, they look more likely to cement their spot as the third best team in the Premier League.
The Gunners will have their hands full for the duration of their title challenge, as Erling Haaland continues to take the Premier League by storm with an almost impossible goal-scoring record.
What about the top four and European places?
Uneven Tottenham are hanging in the top four battle and for the moment have hunted down Newcastle, while Liverpool is back in the Champions League picture after their return to form and Chelsea looks like a top six finish is their ceiling. For now.
Surprising Fulham, Brentford, and Brighton are all hanging around on the periphery with fine campaigns. Can one of them surprise and qualify for Europe?
Who are the candidates for relegation?
Southampton, West Ham, and Bournemouth currently occupy the relegation places but that keeps changing all the time and it is so tight at the bottom of the table.
Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Wolves, Leeds, Everton and Crystal Palace all find themselves within a few points of the bottom three as the race to stay in the Premier League intensifies. This could be the craziest relegation scrap in Premier League history.
Below you will find the latest Premier League table.
The Premier League relegation scrap needs some serious paring down, as a remarkably-high nine teams sit within four points of 20th place on the 2022-23 Premier League table.
That means we’re set, at least for now, for more relegation six-pointers than at any time in recent memory — many of them, you’ll see below, will involve Bournemouth — and the odds are in favor of a relatively surprising team heading down to the Championship.
As for now Everton, Leeds, and Saints are the form teams in the fight, while Leicester and Crystal Palace sure could use a win.
Will the Premier League’s current bottom three of Bournemouth, West Ham and Southampton still be there when the season ends?
Below you’ll see the latest standings, the fixtures for the teams still in danger of dropping into the second tier, relegation odds, and our prediction for who will collect how many points.
Leicester City: Palace (A), Villa (H), Bournemouth (H), Man City (A), Wolves (H), Leeds (A), Everton (H), Fulham (A), Liverpool (H), Newcastle (A), West Ham (H)
West Ham: Southampton (H), Newcastle (H), Fulham (A), Arsenal (H), Bournemouth (A), Liverpool (H), Palace (A), Man Utd (H), Brentford (A), Leeds (H), Leicester (A)
Nottingham Forest: Wolves (H), Leeds (A), Villa (A), Man Utd (H), Liverpool (A), Brighton (H), Brentford (A), Southampton (H), Chelsea (A), Arsenal (H), Palace (A)
Leeds: Arsenal (A), Forest (H), Palace (H), Liverpool (H), Fulham (A), Leicester (H), Bournemouth (A), Man City (A), Newcastle (H), West Ham (A), Spurs (H)
Everton: Spurs (H), Man Utd (A), Fulham (H), Palace (A), Newcastle (H), Leicester (A), Brighton (A), Man City (H), Wolves (A), Bournemouth (H)
Southampton: West Ham (A), Man City (H), Palace (H), Arsenal (A), Bournemouth (H), Newcastle (A), Forest (A), Fulham (H), Brighton (A), Liverpool (H)
Bournemouth: Fulham (H), Brighton (H), Leicester (A), Spurs (A), West Ham (H), Southampton (A), Leeds (H), Chelsea (H), Palace (A), Man Utd (H), Everton (A)
Key fixtures that will decide the Premier League relegation scrap
Saturday, March 18: Wolves 2-4 Leeds – RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS
Saturday, April 1: AFC Bournemouth vs Fulham — 10am ET
Saturday, April 1: Crystal Palace vs Leicester — 10am ET
Saturday, April 1: Nottingham Forest vs Wolves — 10am ET
Sunday, April 2: West Ham vs Southampton — 9am ET
Tuesday, April 4: Leeds vs Nottingham Forest — 2:45pm ET
Saturday, April 8: Leicester vs AFC Bournemouth — 10am ET
Saturday, April 8: Leeds vs Crystal Palace — 12:30pm ET
Saturday, April 15: Southampton vs Crystal Palace — 10am ET
Saturday, April 22: Crystal Palace vs Everton — 10am ET
Saturday, April 22: Leicester vs Wolves — 10am ET
Sunday, April 23: AFC Bournemouth vs West Ham — 9am ET
Tuesday, April 25: Wolves vs Crystal Palace — 2:30pm ET
Tuesday, April 25: Leeds vs Leicester — 2:45pm ET
Thursday, April 27: Southampton vs AFC Bournemouth — 2:45pm ET
Saturday, April 29: Crystal Palace vs West Ham — 7:30am ET
Sunday, April 30: AFC Bournemouth vs Leeds — 9am ET
Monday, May 1: Leicester vs Everton — 3pm ET
Saturday, May 6: Nottingham Forest vs Southampton — Time TBD
Saturday, May 13: Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth — Time TBD
Saturday, May 20: West Ham vs Leeds — Time TBD
Sunday, May 28: Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest — Time TBD
Sunday, May 28: Everton vs AFC Bournemouth — Time TBD
Sunday, May 28: Leicester vs West Ham — Time TBD
Premier League relegation odds (As of March 28, 2023)
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