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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

Cristiano Ronaldo mocked as Glazers blasted in Manchester United moments missed vs Brentford

This was a dark day in Manchester United's rich and colourful history.

Saturday's 4-0 defeat to Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium not only extended United's losing run away from home to seven matches, but it also meant that Erik ten Hag became the first Reds manager to lose his opening two matches since John Chapman 101 years ago. From the moment David de Gea let Josh Dasilva's 10th-minute strike slip through his fingers, there was only going to be one winner.

United, just as they did so many times last season, crumbled under the first sight of pressure, finding themselves four goals down at half-time in a Premier League away game for the very first time. After Dasilva's opener, Brentford added a second to their tally, with Mathias Jensen pouncing on another De Gea error.

READ MORE: Manchester United player ratings from Brentford nightmare

Ben Mee, a summer signing from Burnley, bundled the ball home from a corner to make it 3-0 before Bryan Mbeumo, just five minutes later, added a fourth with a cool finish. The only positive for United was that they didn't concede more.

It was a disgrace of a performance from start to finish, leaving them bottom of the table after their first two matches. It was an evening to forget and has left Ten Hag facing a challenge even bigger than he probably ever imagined.

However, there were a handful of moments that you might have missed from United's trip to west London. Here, MEN Sport has picked out four moments that you might not have spotted.

Fans take aim at the Glazers

In the baking hot London sun, the first ball had not even been kicked and the travelling contingent of United supporters were making their feelings about the Glazer family known. Two banners carried meaningful messages against their ownership of the club, while the fans filled the Gtech Community Stadium air with chants of 'We want Glazers out'.

Hundreds of United supporters marched in protest against the American family last weekend ahead of the 2-1 defeat to Brighton and you can guarantee that more will follow in the coming weeks. It symbolised what was to come.

Eriksen's hostile reception

Given a route back into football just months after his life flashed before his eyes, Brentford's supporters were unlikely to go easy on Christian Eriksen on his first return to the club since turning down the offer of a new contract in favour of a move to Old Trafford last month. The Dane joined Brentford back in January on a short-term deal and played a key role in helping them avoid relegation last season.

Christian Eriksen's return to Brentford did not go according to plan. (Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images.)

His decision to leave the club and join United was never going to go down well with the home crowd, who felt their club had given him a route back into football before he decided to leave them in pursuit of a new chapter. His every touch of the ball was booed and with less than 10 minutes to go chants of 'Christian, what's the score?' began to reverberate around the stadium.

Eriksen will want to move on quickly.

Brentford fan mocks Ronaldo

As half-time loomed, a Brentford supporter, who had seen his side open up a four-goal lead by this stage, whipped out his smartphone, stood up and took a photo of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was standing near the halfway line with his hands on his hips. As he snapped the image of the dejected-looking 37-year-old, he laughed at the Portugal captain's expense.

The Sky cameras happened to spot it, just as Ronaldo turned his head in the direction of the gloating supporter. Whether the United striker caught a full view of him or not is another question. Nevertheless, it was a moment that summed up the evening.

Ronaldo heads for home

Although United served up a shambles of a performance for their travelling supporters, many of them stayed right until the very last whistle, even though they would not have been blamed for walking out with just 35 minutes on the clock. Most of the players, following the full-time whistle, ventured towards the away end to clap and thank the fans for their support.

Harry Maguire did so from a distance, but Ronaldo was in no such mood to even do that. He made a beeline for the tunnel and, seemingly, wanted to get out of west London as quickly as possible. However, United assistant manager Steve McClaren attempted to try and change the 37-year-old's direction and force him over towards the far corner.

Ronaldo did not oblige, continuing his walk towards the tunnel. Ten Hag made no attempt to shake his hand, unlike other members of the coaching staff.

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