- Matthijs de Ligt suffered a head injury when he collided with Kevin Schade
- While De Ligt was off the pitch, Ethan Pinnock headed Brentford 1-0 up
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Matthijs de Ligt was left with a bloodied head following a clash with Kevin Schade towards the end of the first half in Saturday’s game between Manchester United and Brentford.
United defender De Ligt’s head collided with Brentford winger Schade’s knee while the game was still tied at 0-0.
But after De Ligt had been ordered off the field to receive treatment for his messy wound, Brentford scored the opening goal as Ethan Pinnock headed home from a Mikkel Damsgaard corner kick.
Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag was furious that his side had to defend the corner with just 10 men and he directed his anger at the officials, resulting in a yellow card.
United centre back Jonny Evans was also booked for dissent.
Matthijs de Ligt was left with a bloodied head during Man United’s game against Brentford
Defender De Ligt got the injury when his head collided with the knee of Kevin Schade (left)
Central defender De Ligt was initially treated by medical staff on the field at Old Trafford
De Ligt then had to leave the field and Brentford scored the opening goal during his absence
Ethan Pinnock pictured (centre) scoring for Brentford with a header just before half-time
De Ligt’s absence was certainly felt for Pinnock’s goal. But it was the third time he had to receive treatment, and the United medical team should’ve applied appropriate dressing at the first sight of blood.
De Ligt’s angrily protested the decision, but there’s little more officials could’ve changed given protocols around head injuries.
He was taken off the pitch to attend to his head injury, and protocol says he needed to stay on the touchline for 30 seconds.
Manager Erik ten Hag (right) was furious that Brentford scored when United only had 10 men
Ten Hag was shown a yellow card for dissent by match referee Samuel Barrott (not in shot)
Manchester United conceded their ninth goal in eight games, but the result meant they notched their first win in six games.
It represents an uptick in form for United, with the result taking some pressure off of a beleaguered ten Hag.
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