Manchester United have smiling faces at Old Trafford on Monday evening. Ralf Rangnick’s team put Brentford aside in his last home game of the season remarkably easily: 3-0. Star Cristiano Ronaldo made a razor-sharp impression and with a strong move forced a penalty, which gave the Portuguese his eighteenth league goal of the season. It was United’s biggest league win, going through a dramatic season, since October 30, when Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 0-3. The three points do not help the English superpower enormously in the ranking, where the coveted place four seems out of sight.
Rangnick made one change in his starting formation after the 1-1 draw against Chelsea. That was a striking one, because Juan Mata made his appearance for the first time this season at the kick-off of a Premier League game. The 34-year-old Spaniard, who will leave on a free transfer at the end of the season, referred Marcus Rashford to the reserve bench with his base spot.
Suuuuuii This one counts for Cristiano Ronaldo, 2-0 ??#ZiggoSport #PremierLeague #MUNBRE pic.twitter.com/4G08ewrANA
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) May 2, 2022
United made it easy for themselves by taking the lead within ten minutes. Diogo Dalot sent Anthony Elanga towards the back line with a good deep ball from the back. The Swedish wing striker was able to give the ball just before the back line, after which Bruno Fernandes ran the ball in: 1-0. The home team constantly had the ball and patiently looked for new openings. Mata finished well after putting Ronaldo back just wide, after which the latter seemed to make it 2-0 just before half-time.
Raphaël Varane also makes third for United ?? The last home game of the season will be won ??#ZiggoSport #PremierLeague #MUNBRE pic.twitter.com/8W5bk5DCpu
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) May 2, 2022
Ronaldo was released by a nice pass from Mata and finished in a controlled manner, but turned out to have been at least offside during the VAR check. Ronaldo was visibly frustrated, but turned that into new attacking urges after the break. The Portuguese showed himself razor sharp in the sixtieth minute by putting Rico Henry on the sidelines of the ball with a shoulder push. Brentford’s left back tried to come back into the game, beating Ronaldo over: a penalty, which was used with full conviction by the star player: 2-0. Raphaël Varane also shared in the festivities by tapping in the 3-0 from a corner. It was the defender’s first goal in English service. Mathias Jensen came close to scoring on behalf of Brentford, but shot hard on a block in free position.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | † | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 34 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 63 | 83 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 34 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 64 | 82 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 34 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 39 | 66 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 34 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 63 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 34 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 20 | 61 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 36 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 58 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 35 | 15 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 52 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton W. | 34 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 49 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 35 | 10 | 14 | 11 | -8 | 44 |
| 10 | Newcastle United | 35 | 11 | 10 | 14 | -16 | 43 |
| 11 | Leicester City | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | -6 | 42 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 34 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 41 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 33 | 12 | 4 | 17 | -2 | 40 |
| 14 | Brentford | 35 | 11 | 7 | 17 | -11 | 40 |
| 15 | Southampton | 35 | 9 | 13 | 13 | -17 | 40 |
| 16 | Burnley | 34 | 7 | 13 | 14 | -15 | 34 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | -34 | 34 |
| 18 | Everton | 33 | 9 | 5 | 19 | -20 | 32 |
| 19 | Watford | 34 | 6 | 4 | 24 | -37 | 22 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 34 | 5 | 6 | 23 | -49 | 21 |