Thomas Frank praises Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen for ‘running the show’ against Brentford

Thomas Frank praised Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen for ‘running the show’ against his Brentford team at Old Trafford.

United came from a goal down to beat Brentford 2-1 on Saturday and ease the pressure on struggling boss Erik ten Hag.

Manchester United were believed to be assessing Ten Hag’s future as manager during the international break following a dismal start to the season which saw the Red Devils slip to 14th in the Premier League.

Ten Hag may have been fearing the worst when Brentford took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Ethan Pinnock, but his team fought back after the break to seal a crucial win.

Alejandro Garnacho equalised with a superb first-time finish from Marcus Rashford’s cross before Rasmus Hojlund scored the winner with his first league goal of the season.

Brentford boss Frank described the Old Trafford clash as a ‘game of two halves’ and singled out his compatriot Eriksen for praising, insisting he ‘ran the show’.

‘There were a lot of things that went right for us in the first half,’ he told BBC Sport after the 2-1 defeat. ‘It was a game of two halves.

‘It was pretty even in the first half, maybe we were slightly on top. We knew they would come out strong but it’s disappointing to concede two minutes into the second half, that of course is not good enough.

‘If they don’t score there maybe they get more frustrated and we get more into the game so that was disappointing. We didn’t hit a high enough level in the second half but of course they deserve credit.

‘I think we can do better, you need to play two good halves to win at Old Trafford. They have top players so you need to have two good halves.

‘Credit to United, some of their players reached a better level, Christian Eriksen was running the show, definitely.

‘We did a lot of things right in the first half which was very impressive, second half is disappointing overall because I know what these players are capable of.’

Manchester United boss Ten Hag, meanwhile, praised his side’s response to going behind and the Old Trafford faithful for sticking with the team.

‘We are happy to win the game,’ he said. ‘At United, you have to win games but also to bring entertainment.

‘I think for everyone it was an enjoyable afternoon. Especially the way it happened, when you concede an unfair goal.

‘In the second half we showed we are together, we showed determination and we scored two beautiful goals.

‘I’m really happy for our fans. They are always behind us, even when everyone is against us. They stick with us and always support us.

‘We say thank you to them today for being so behind us. I think they were one of the reasons for the quick start after half-time.’

Manchester United’s victory sends them 10th in the Premier League, while Brentford drop down to 12th.

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