Scott McTominay ignited jubilant celebrations inside Old Trafford by scoring two late goals, leading Manchester United to a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory against Brentford.
Fan-recorded footage from inside the stadium vividly illustrates the ecstatic scenes that unfolded.
Saturday’s match was crucial for the Red Devils, coming on the heels of two consecutive defeats in different competitions, against Crystal Palace and Galatasaray. United had experienced their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, adding to the mounting pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.
In the first half, it appeared that their run of bad luck might persist. Andre Onana, who had encountered difficulties since arriving in English football, committed a glaring error that led to the opening goal. This had supporters concerned that more misfortune might be in store.
McTominay salvages late win
In the dying moments of the match, with fans growing increasingly pessimistic, Erik ten Hag made a critical decision to bring in Scott McTominay in the 87th minute in an attempt to salvage the game. McTominay had struggled to secure playing time this season, having only accumulated 183 minutes of Premier League football thus far.
However, Ten Hag’s gamble proved to be a masterstroke. Just six minutes after entering the match, some clever play by Alejandro Garnacho on the left-wing led to a cutback that found Diogo Dalot on the edge of the box. The Portuguese defender took a first-time shot that the goalkeeper couldn’t hold onto, and McTominay was alert to pounce on the rebound and put it in the net.
That goal itself repaid the manager’s faith, but the super sub then went one better and scored a late winner in the seventh minute of added time. A free kick was flicked on by Harry Maguire, and McTominay was on hand to head the ball past Thomas Strakosha.
The celebrations in the stands were wild
The home support were obviously delighted with the turnaround, with Old Trafford becoming a cauldron of noise as the United players celebrated. And fan footage recorded from the stands shows just how wild things got.
Footage of McTominay’s winner, recorded by theStretford Paddock, was shared on X (formally Twitter) after the game, and it shows that the whole ground was bouncing. The sheer noise of the celebrations is deafening, with fans overjoyed and also slightly relieved that they had salvaged three points at the death.
Another video recorded by X user@aaroncikayaalso captured the winning goal and the incredible eruption that followed, with fans wildly celebrating as players rushed over to swamp McTominay. The footage goes to show that nothing hits quite like a last-minute winner. Check out both videos for yourselves below.
Scott McTominay’s winner from the stands🤩 #MUFC pic.twitter.com/pJoUO00Y30
— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) October 7, 2023
Scott McTominay’s last minute winner from where I was sat. Limbs. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/10qxqzhmCw
— Aaron (@aaroncikaya) October 7, 2023
Speaking after the game, McTominay said that the late goal was up there with his “favourite moments on a football pitch.” Headdedthat part of being a United player was never giving up, which certainly was the case today:
“At this football club you grow up knowing you are never allowed to give up. I’ve been brought up at Manchester Utd ever since I was 5 years old. I know the feeling of never being allowed to give up better than anyone.”