Erik ten Hag stated that Manchester United used the “injustice” of Ethan Pinnock’s goal as motivation for their comeback against Brentford.
Pinnock scored with a header from a corner in first-half injury time after Matthijs de Ligt was forced off the pitch to treat a head injury.
De Ligt had left the field twice for medical checks, but despite having only dried blood on his head, referee Sam Barrott still instructed him to leave before Brentford’s corner, which Ten Hag and Ruud van Nistelrooy protested.
Both were penalized for their objections, with Ten Hag insisting that the decision was wrong.
“It was just dried blood, and Matthijs had already been treated,” Ten Hag explained. “No one understood why he had to come off.
I asked him, and he said, ‘It’s just dried blood, I don’t know why I was sent off.’ It was a big moment because Brentford are strong at corners, and it was frustrating to concede that way.”
Ten Hag suggested that the sense of unfairness might have fueled United’s response. Alejandro Garnacho quickly equalized after halftime, and Rasmus Hojlund scored the winner in the 62nd minute, lifting United to eighth in the Premier League.
Despite recent struggles, including going 317 minutes without scoring in the league, Ten Hag believes the team’s only issue this season has been converting chances.
Hojlund has now scored in two of his three starts after recovering from a pre-season hamstring injury.
