Manchester United’s victory over Brentford may be viewed from two perspectives. Either it was a triumphant return to winning ways by scraping out a tenacious three points, or it was cause for concern that they were generally ineffective against mediocre competition.
The lack of excellent goal-scorers for United is their issue. Having at least one excellent goal scorer in their lineup this season is a plus, though.
Under Erik ten Hag, Marcus Rashford has thrived in his role as the United attack’s coordinator. Nevertheless, the team has grown so dependent on his performance that it is difficult to imagine another goal being scored without him.
Such was the case once more in the victory over Brentford, when Rashford scored from close range following a deft lay-off from Marcel Sabitzer, rewarding a rare instance of offensive excellence.
It increased Rashford’s total to 28 for the season across all competitions, an astonishing performance made more remarkable by the team’s overall dearth of goals.
The England international has scored more goals than all of their next three highest scorers combined, Bruno Fernandes, who is their second-highest scorer with 10 goals.
When questioned if his team relied too heavily on Rashford at the end of the game, Ten Hag responded, “Yes, that’s the reality. But we also realize that other players have scoring potential. Antony dos Santos has already scored a few goals, and Bruno is capable of doing the same. Jadon Sancho is capable of scoring. Marcel Sabitzer is capable of scoring.
“Across the team, there are many more players who can score; some of them have. Two players who can score more than, say, 12 or 15 goals every season are what you want as a team.
In comparison to the four players Ten Hag mentioned combined, Rashford has scored three more goals this season. Anthony Martial has only participated in 15 of the possible 48 games this season, but he is still tied for the fourth-highest scorer for United, which says a lot.
In order to help correct the imbalance, Ten Hag has made it a goal to bring in a new striker during the summer transfer window. Yet, even with that addition, he will still need to increase the firepower of the players already on the team.
Harry Kane, the star striker for Tottenham, is the top target, but Manchester United is still interested in Napoli’s Victor Osimhen. In addition, Ten Hag is a fan of Mohammed Kudus of Ajax and Goncalo Ramos of Benfica. They are also keeping an eye on Randal Kolo Muani of Eintracht Frankfurt and Rasmus Hojlund of Atalanta.
Although there is anticipation that the addition of a seasoned striker could make United title contenders the following campaign, the real secret might lie in making the most of what they already have.
Alejandro Garnacho, a teenager, has already displayed plenty of promise to suggest he has much more to offer. Antony, who has scored seven goals in his debut season, may increase his goal threat once he has properly accustomed to his new surroundings.
Ever since he joined the team, Fernandes has consistently produced offensively, while Sancho has shown signs of promise despite his lengthy period of inactivity. When given more opportunity to attack during a midweek game, Sabitzer performed far better, and he, too, might bolster the attackers with a few goals each season.
It is evident that, while bringing in a new attacker will undoubtedly provide the necessary immediate quality boost, Ten Hag’s actual objective will be to hone the forwards who are currently at his disposal.
There are a lot of scoring options for United, but they must now use them.