Man United vs Brentford player ratings: Marcus Rashford back among the goals in Red Devils win

Manchester United 1-0 Brentford: Marcus Rashford’s first half goal seals three points for United to take them back into top four

Marcus Rashford (left) earned Manchester United victory (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Wire)

Manchester United returned to winning ways with a comfortable 1-0 win over a timid Brentford side who struggled to get into the game.

United started brightly and took the lead in the 27th minute through Marcus Rashford, who fired a half-volley into the roof of the net for his 28th goal of the season.

Substitute Kevin Schade came close to finding an equaliser for Brentford late in the game when he found himself through on goal, but David de Gea did well to block his attempt.

The win takes Man United back into the top four, level on points with Newcastle United in third.

Here are the player ratings from Old Trafford.

Manchester United

David de Gea, 7. Smart save in the second half after Schade found himself through on goal. Had a goal kick blocked by an onrushing Toney in the first half but was largely untroubled in the game.

Diogo Dalot, 7. Spent large parts of the first half drifting into midfield and his sharp movement unsettled the Brentford backline. Combined well with Antony and always looked an attacking threat.

Raphael Varane, 7. Solid without being spectacular. His positioning was immaculate and he looked assured in possession.

Lisandro Martinez, 6. Lost a couple of duels with Toney and was caught of position a couple of times in the second half. Distribution, as always, was stellar.

Luke Shaw, 8. Looked bright in the 37 minutes he played. Combined well with Sancho and was a constant attacking threat with his overlapping runs.

Scott McTominay, 8. Industrious performance from the Scotsman, who came close to opening the scoring in the first half. Carried the ball well from deep and made a couple of important blocks in the second half.

Marcel Sabitzer, 8. Impressed in a more advanced role and combined well with the frontline. Set up Rashford’s goal with a smart, cushioned header.

Antony, 6. Couple of sharp touches in the first half and had a couple of ambitious attempts from the edge of the box. Combined well with Dalot down the right but his influence waned as the game progressed.

Bruno Fernandes, 8. Set the tone for United in midfield with his vision and quick one-time passes. Always looked to play it forward and his energy levels remained high throughout. Picked up a booking in the second half for a poorly timed tackle.

Jadon Sancho, 7. Encouraging performance from the winger whose confidence seems to be on the rise. Was unafraid to take on defenders and combined well with Shaw in the first half.

Marcus Rashford, 9. Took his goal well with a sweetly timed half-volley. Consistently drew defenders out of position. Moved out wide when Martial came on and did well to get to the byline on a couple of occasions.

Subs: Malacia 7, Fred 5, Martial 5, Lindelof N/A

(Getty Images)

Brentford

David Raya, 7. Couldn’t do much about the Rashford goal, made a couple of routine saves but didn’t have much else to do.

Mads Roerslev, 5. Sancho had the better of him the whole game. Struggled to make progress up the pitch and was unable to offer Brentford any width in possession.

Pontus Jansson, 5. Constantly dragged out of position, especially in the first half.

Ethan Pinnock, 6. Brentford’s best defender on the night. Held the backline together with his smart positioning, especially in the first half.

Ben Mee, 5. Struggled to contend with Dalot and Antony’s interchanging movement.

Rico Henry, 6. Worked tirelessly the whole game and improved as the game went on.

Mikkel Damsgaard, 5. Lacked impetus going forward and was largely absent through the game. Often found himself pressed into a corner and struggle to cope with the physicality of the game.

Christian Norgaard, 5. Continually outrun by Fernandes and was guilty of giving United players too much time on the ball.

Mathias Jensen, 6. Only Brentford midfielder who carried any genuine attacking threat in the game. But beyond a couple of neat balls into Toney, was peripheral.

Bryan Mbeumo, 5. Was feeding on scraps throughout. Combined well with Toney and made a couple of smart runs between the centre-backs but never got a sight of goal.

Ivan Toney, 7. Should have had an assist for his flick on to Schade. Won his duels against Martinez and did well to pick up fouls. Nice touches throughout the game and kept dropping deep to carry the ball out of defence.

Subs: Baptiste 5, Dasilva 5, Schade 5, Wissa 5, Hickey 5