ANALYSIS WHAT WE LEARNED
MATIC’S UNTIMELY FORM
THE United midfield was an area that needed reinforcement even before Nemanja Matic confirmed his time at the club was coming to an end.
After recent performances, he might find his options opening up this summer. The Serbian has been a reassuring performer in the centre of the pitch of late and has mixed his positional discipline with an eye for a pass further forward.
It sounds simple but United’s ideal replacement this summer needs to basically be a younger, more mobile version of Matic. Someone like Declan Rice looks to fit the bill perfectly.
Matic is United’s only natural holding midfielder and in the back-to-back Old Trafford games against Chelsea and Brentford he has stood head and shoulders above Scott McTominay, who is probably the closest United have to someone to fill his shoes.
Matic had time to pick a pass in the centre circle, but the chipped ball he found to release Bruno Fernandes was outstanding and it deserved the finish, only for the Portugal star to drag it narrowly wide.
When Matic was replaced with 20 minutes to go Ronaldo began the applause on the pitch and then raced to the centre circle to give his team-mate a hug. After this dreadful season it was a gesture that showed Ronaldo knows what United will miss.
RONALDO’S ROLE
IF Erik ten Hag has been watching United closely he will surely have been impressed by the form of Ronaldo, who is now up to 24 goals this season.
He won and converted the second-half penalty that put this game beyond Brentford and produced another display that showed he is far more than just a goalscorer.
The 37-year-old looked to be having fun with Juan Mata playing just behind him.
So eager was Ronaldo to make his mark defensively as well that in the first half he charged back to put in a strong slide tackle on Bryan Mbuemo as Brentford threatened to break. Ronaldo even nudged Scott McTominay out of the way as he closed in on his prey.
This has certainly felt like a slightly different Ronaldo in recent weeks
MOMENTUM FOR TEN HAG
IT is a shorter than usual turnaround ahead of the kick-off for 2022/23 on August 6 so perhaps there is some merit to the idea of finishing this season in good form, to give Erik ten Hag a platform to build on when he takes over in June.
That certainly explains Ralf Rangnick’s desire to continue picking a strong squad, with neither Alvaro Fernandez or Alejandro Garnacho coming off the bench against Brentford.
There is certainly a lot of work to do for Ten Hag this summer, but maybe if United can finish with a flourish it will make his task ever so slightly easier.