Manchester United humiliated by Brentford, fans slam manager for benching Varane

Disastrous is the best word to describe the start to Manchester United's 2022/23 season. After losing their opening match 1-2 against Brighton last week, they got thrashed 0-4 by Brentford on Saturday.

New manager Erik ten Hag is already in hot water after having just taken over the club this summer in what many hoped to be the start of the club's revival. The Red Devils only finished 6th in the Premier League last season, and the Dutchman's arrival was seen as a ray of hope after he had just led Ajax to the Eredivisie title.

However, after finding themselves 4 goals down by the end of the first half, United fans were livid. Whatever optimism they may have had at the start of the season is slowly developing into rage. Despite the fact that Ten Hag finally put last season's top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo back in the starting XI, there was no real improvement in the team's performance.

It was clear that United's defence was in shambles after Brentford did not have to work too hard to score that many goals. Ronaldo was uncharacteristically robbed of a ball from a throw-in before keeper David de Gea resembled a slice of Swiss cheese as he allowed Josh Dasilva's shot to go past his body.

Then, De Gea fumbled again when his goal-kick to Christian Eriksen was intercepted by Brentford, allowing Mathias Jensen to score an a calm goal off the side of his foot.

The United defenders were then left dumbstruck as Ben Mee beat all of them to slam a header into the back of the net from a corner. Then, Luke Shaw was left like a sitting duck at the United backline when Brentford launched a counter-attack led by Bryan Mbeumo, who scored the fourth goal for the hosts.

Social media exploded with questions from United fans, with many highlighting defender Raphael Varane's absence from the starting line-up.

Captain Harry Maguire was again at the receiving end of criticism, much like last season. One fan tweeted: "I'm still confused as to why Varane can't get into the #MUFC starting XI. He was fit last week, so should have partnered Martinez. Even if he's not 100%, he has pace to recover certain situations - something Maguire doesn't."

Although Ten Hag did bring Varane it at the half, they were already down by four goals by then and they were not even able to pull a single goal back.

They did get a peep in the 72nd minute courtesy of Anthony Elanga, but the Brentford defenders were able to clear the threat before he could fire a proper shot after the ball bounced off his shin.

Manchester United looked like a dejected lot as they walked off the pitch, and they have a lot to think about before they face Champions League finalists Liverpool in their next outing. Needless to say, there's a real chance they will have to wait longer to get their first victory of the season.